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New Edinburgh News
JUIN 2002
Evenings at the Stanley Park Gazebo
Residents in the vicinity of the gazebo, next to Stanley Avenue,
have drawn the City’s attention to a number of ongoing problems
that appear to be drawn to this area of the park once the sun goes
down. The situation, we are told by staff, occurs in many of the
City’s parks at the beginning of the warm months, especially prior
to the end of the school year. Examples include:
• Broken glass and fouling of the children’s facilities
• Vandalism of park buildings and fields
• House and vehicle break-ins following late night (early morning)
parties
• Drinking and drug dealing.
A meeting was arranged on May 23rd involving park neighbours,
representatives of NECA and a broad spectrum of City departments
(Police, By-Law Enforcement, People Services – parks programming,
and TUPW – parks area manager). The intention was to try to
develop a wholistic approach that might have some success in
addressing the problems without reducing the opportunities for the
legitimate enjoyment of this wonderful community asset. The focus
was very much on reducing the risks posed to children using the
park facilities as well as the incidents that disturb the peace of
the neighbourhood.
The most important initiative resulting from that meeting will be
an audit conducted using the guidelines of the “Crime prevention
through environmental design” programme. Residents are invited to
participate in the audit. Those interested should contact the
President of NECA, Daphne Hope, or my office.
Police Complaints – How is the system supposed to work?
In any ordered society the Police are accorded special and
extraordinary powers. Democratic societies, of necessity, have put
in place mechanisms for the civilian oversight of its police
forces. There exists as yet no one universally recognised ideal
model for accomplishing this very important task. Canada is known
internationally for the attention that it gives to the oversight
of law enforcement.
One basic element of the oversight function is monitoring the
manner in which complaints against the Police are handled. In
Ontario, complaints against the Police must be submitted in
writing and are referred to the Chief for investigation and
resolution. The Chief must respond within a reasonable and fixed
time period. The concern that arises immediately is that, up to
this point, the police are investigating the police. The next step
should give reassurance however. If the complainant is not
satisfied with the Chief’s response, an appeal may be filed with
an independent agency - in fact, there are two of them! Appeals
regarding complaints related to the quality of the local service,
something over which the local Police Services Board has control,
are directed to a committee of the Board. Appeals having to do
with police conduct are referred to the Ontario Civilian
Commission on Police Services (OCCOPS).
A series of articles in recent weeks in the Ottawa Citizen
effectively posed the following question regarding those
complaints for which appeals are never filed: “How is the Police
Services Board (as the oversight agency) to know if the complaints
are being resolved according to its policies if the Board is not
provided with any information on those complaints?” In fact,
statistical quarterly reports are provided but that is all. No
information is provided which gives the Board an idea of the
specifics of the complaint and how it was resolved, presumably to
the satisfaction of the complainant. If you would like more
information on the complaints process, I encourage you to consult
the Ottawa Police web site at
www.ottawapolice.ca or ask for a pamphlet on the subject at
one of our community police offices.
CFB Rockcliffe - Housing
I continue to try to convince the Department of National Defence (DND)
that unused (but serviceable) houses on the base ought to actually
be used for housing for as long as redevelopment plans for the
base are yet undetermined. I have asked Claudette Bradshaw, the
federal minister responsible for homelessness, to intervene with
her colleague Art Eggleton, minister responsible for DND, which
she has done. I will be meeting shortly with federal MP Mauril
Bélanger on the issue.
You can communicate with me at (please include a telephone
number):
City of Ottawa
110 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa ON K1P 1J1
Tel: 580-2483, Fax: 580-2523
e-mail:
jacques.legendre@city.ottawa.on.ca
Web Site:
www.rideau-rockcliffe.com
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