WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1976, PAGE e pOL OE Facts and sfats: Pol'ice busier in We hiave heard a deluge of opinions [rom various groups and individuals on why the 1 8 division police station in Wiltby should rem:îin open. Now, let's look at the facîs recently compiled by Durham Regional Police. A coniparison belween 1974 and 1975 mnmber of incidents investigated by tlhe Durham Region Police 18 division which pat roIs Whiitby shows increases in almnost al categories of crime. Reported criminal code offences vere up [rom i1,800 in 1974 10 2,001 in 1975, ani increase of 11. 16 percent. lncluded in the increases were incidents of commion assault. f roni 58 10 89; assault causing bodily harmi, fromi 24 to 26; assault of police officers, froin four 10 six; auto theft, [rom 123 10 125; causing a disturbance, frorn nine 10 10; [raud, from 44 10 67; property darnage 10 schools fromi 98 10 103; property darnage toresidences [rom 60 10 91; property danmage 10 shiops, froni 7510o 78; other property danage, froni 111 10 146; murder, frorn none 10 one; violating the opinion and narcotics drug act, [romi 38 10 69; obstruicting police, fromn one t0 seven; possession of offensive weapons, froni 15 10 16; publicenîischief, [rom îhree to nine; theft over SI-00 [rom 86 10 110; îhreatening, from 42 to 43; driving whmtie licence under suspenision, fromi 16 to 23; impaired driving, froi 10 22; driving witlî over .08 per cent alcohol, from 111 10 145; and refusing breathal- yzer test, from seven to11 Il Decreases of incidents [rom 1974 to 1975 were noted in breachi of proba- lion, fromn 28 to four; break and eniter of' residenices, tron1 94 bo 74; break and enter of shops, [romIn 50 t10 I 27;arson, [rom I12 10 six; possession of buirglary tools, fromn one 10 none; possession of stolen goods, [rom eîghit 10seven; rape, lrom five 10 one; robbery from seven 10 six; sexual offences frorn I10 10 four; theft under $200; frorn 440 10 439; trespassing, frorn 1 2 t0 four; woundingoffences, [rom four 10 îhree; and dangerous driving, frorn1 2 10 fouir. Liquor offences also jurnped, from 319 in 1974 to 341 in 1975, representing an increase of 6.89 per cent. Increases of incidents [rom 1974 10 1975 were noted in people baving liquor, from 118 10 144; minors having and consuiing liquor, frorn 73 10 100. 1)ecreast-s iii liqLlor of- fences [rom 1974 10 1975 were recorded in violations of the liquor licence act, fromi five 10 lwo; and in mîtoxicaîed persons, [romi 112310 95. A total or 3,407 traffic EDITOR'S NOTE: Fol- loxvîng is aî copy of' a brief preseutied at last week's public meeting on tlhe reion's decision 10 close the Whbv police sa on01 Rosslarid R (a d. Fre, lPress Publisher MIanaging Editor Mike Burgess prcpared and pre- sented t1e brief' on blAhaîf o[' the hliîtby, Chambher of Commerce of svhich lie is a director. by MIKE BURGESS Speaking against the closing of the Wbitby Police station there arc many sensible, logical points that the Whitby Chamiber of Commerce feels should bc considered. Whitby with ils prescrnt population of nearly 28,000 people, an increase of about 60% over the lasI ten years, is presently getting 10 be more and more the centre of activity for Durbam Region.... despite the obvious fact that many Oshawanians would like 10 sec the centre in Oshawa. We have, as you know, the headquarlcrs of regional activities in Whitby. Next door, in the process of being erected is the new Whitby Municipal building. Soon, nîo doubt, the Province will exercise ils option and con- struct a provincial building 10 house the registry office and other provincial fonc- lions. Logic would indicate thiat across the road [rom A Ibis would nol only be a good location for the Whitby Police station, bol even possibly Police headquarters [, or the region. MIKE BURGESS We are A aware of the impcnding growtlî boom in Wh i tby. Most Whilby residents can probably namie at least a few highi concentra- tion developmcinls that will be briniging more people mbt town in the next couple years. Even the province has publically sîated thal Whitby is slated for growth. Bol aparl [rom the growth aspect these are onlv emotional arguments. Gel ting down 10 hiard facîs we don't believe we are getting the sarne level of police protec- tion we used ho get prior 10 regional governiment. Durhami Regional Pol ice officiaIs would have us believe we are and tlîey state thal Whilby bas the samne number of uni[ormed officers now in 1976 as we did in 1973 prior 10 regional government. Their posting sheets do indeed show that the sanie number of oni[ormed men are POSTED 10 Whitby, bot do not indicate the numerous limes men posted to Whitby have in fact wound up being sent 10 filI in for shortages else- where. We may in fact START an evening, or nighh Whiltby charges were -laid in 1975 cornparcd 10 2,529 in 1974, an increaseof 34.T per cent. Increases frorn 1974 10 1975 wcre recorded in charges of careless driving, froin 97 10 1 21 ; change of address, frorn 15 to 16; dlefective inuffler and unnecessary noise, fromi 49 10 54; lack of' evidence of insurance, frorn 30 10 40; failure to produce licence, fromn 32 10 43; failu re t0 transfer vehicle ownership, [romn none to nine ; violation of one-way streets, fromi six to eight; speeding, fromi 1 ,558 10 2,438; driving unsafe vehicle; [rom 25 10 37; following to0 close, [rom 51 10 66; and mninor offences, [romn 26 t1043. Decreases in traffic offenc- es [rom 1974 10 1975 were recorded in charges laid for defective brakes, from six 10 three; disobeying traffie sign:ils, froîn 114 10 101; failure 10 rernain at or report accidents, frorn22 10 eight; failure 10 yield riglit of way, from 130 to 103; failure 10 corne to a full stop, [rom 119 10 97; making improper tomns, fromn 67 t0 59; having no driver's licence, from 85 to 80; numiber plate violations, frorn 32 t0 29; and violations in passing and lane changes, from 43 10 30. Well, that's il. What do you think? Should they keep the station open? Uet us know how you [ccl. gh soundl1 shift wth three otticers on patrol, but on miany occas- ions have wound up lor most, if not al. of the shift with only one or two. Officers on duty ceave for many reasons, besides being trans- ferred, such as to take a suspect iflt( headcîuarters in Oshawva for a breatlializer test, or fingerprinting, or further investigation. Travel- ling time 10 and [romi Oshawa is at least haîf an hour ... and hience Whitby is short an office/for that perîod. lt's presently too easy for the Oshawa dispatcher 10 say 10 the Whitby officer "bring the suspect mbt Oshawa and l'Il have a 'breath man' corne in fromi Bowmianville". There have also been occasions Mhen instead of Uaig oTh carl forWlby liad three years ago, police statistics indicatingani average 28% increase in offences in Whiitby in 1975 over 1974 should dictate that we would need 28% more manpowcr 10 do the samne job. Whitby's former police chief Bill Pilkington speaks on the region's decision to close our police station. Thursday's public meeting Free Press Photo ".Station too vôluable an asset ta be- closed" says The Grand Jury of the Durham Region bas added ils voice 10 those insisting that the 18 division police station in Whitby remainopen. "We feel that this station No. 18 is 100 valuable an asset 10 be closed down because of the anticipated p)opulation growth of the immrediate area", the Grand Jury said in its April report. 1The Durham Board of Police Commissioners recent- ly recommnended bo regional council that the station be ogical and I n actual tact, agaïn according 10 police sîatislics, ini 1975 Whii tby oflîcers drove I 67ý less miiles than thecy did in I1974. This fact alone would hidicate thit \Vhitby off icers are citheèr loo busy b bec patroîl ing Whitby, possibly spcnding thecir limie ini Oshiawa or trying tIo landle the 218% increase in their burlin. 1. liler way the level of police protection in Whitby bias dropped, and we would suggest that this 1 6% drop in miles is directly related b Ithe 281X incre:,se in occurrences. By comparison for the samie period Oshawa's occurrences went Oj) only 14%, but thieir iles travelled dropped less than I1%. For furîher comiparison i t's interest ing 10 înote that Bownmanville with i ess than hall fthle population lias a coijîpleÎe police facility. On evenings :;.nd nlighits it's run as a store front with nobody present and two cruisers on dlie rùad. Whitby bias had more than îwice as rnany criminal code offences in both 1974 and 1975 Iban Bownianville. In tbe sanie two years, Whitby had more tIhan thre limies as many niotor vehicle accidents as Bowîîîanville, yet Bowman- ville lias two cars on patrol while Wbitby bias only three. We would suggest Ihat twice as many occurrences would indicate the need for twice as many officers. The present Whitby police facility was built three years ago in the words of former Whilby police chief Bill Pilkington "10 assure that closed on June 30 10 cul budget costs and the regional council supported the recom- mendation. The Grand Jury reported that the centralization of the safety bureau in the Whitby station was "an excellent idea as il is ceritrally located in the Durham Region". "We feel that the safety patrol under the supervision of Sgt. Holmes is an excel- lent idea to involve children in their own comrnunity and sa[ety of their fellow neighi- economic commutnity policing would be a l'act in Wiîby, to provide cluick acccss 10 ail parts of dlie neC\V own of Whitby, 10 stII)ply sa fe "lock up" facilitiesbt the co -rt bouse whien required and 10 bc part of thie new municipal build- inîg complex for the new town" o[ Witby. Thiere is no doubt that the location of' the police building wvas chosen, withi a view 10 the iinpending growth expect- cd ini Whilby anîd especialIy Brooklin, and is centrally located 10 ait areas. At tiiis moment there may not be a lot of 'walk-in traf[ic', but oh iiolisly this situation wvill change shortly when 6,000 new residents are housed across the street. 1We would [urîher suggest bliat closing the police build- ing- would NOT save ANY taxpayers any money, but wouîd in fact cost the tax- payers MORE money in two 10 five years. We feel that besides tlhe fact that tlîe cosl of the police building wîll only be passed, frort one departnment budget to another, the population boom expected in Whilby wiIl necessitate the opening of another building in Whitby in two ho five years tune and aI a cost of between one million and one and a baîf million dollars. Further, we would suggest that tlhe closing of theMWhitby facility would over iax the already crowded facility. in Oshawa and result in an expansion of that facility at an added cost to taxpayers. There is no secret that the Prond Jury bors as well as developing a respect for local police", the Grand Jury stated. The Grand Jury also com- plimented the police for their mobile headquarters unît at Whitby whicb could be used for plowing matches and large events such as Mosport races. "We found the building in excellent condition, very dlean and facilities that would refleet a good impression on any community", !he grand Jury report stated. reasons" new Sopbisticated Communi- cations systemi desired by the police hierarchy will set the taxpayers back half-a-million dollars with a great percentage of Ihat amnount slated [or building renovations t0 hoiîse the equipmnent ini Oshawa. We would suggest that this mioney if itlibas to be spent on sucb a grandiose scale, w~ouId be better spent on the Whilby facility whicb is on higher ground, and is more centrally located to the whole region. But if Durliani Regional policlé REALLY wants 10 cul ils budget without hurting thie taxpayers in Whiitby, it would be a lot easier 10 se 111e for a mnuch less expensive commu nicat ions systern...if in fact anymore waste of taxpayers' nioney is needed in this already 100, extrava- gant area. The Comnmunica- tions systern in Whiîby hàs already been cbanged twvo or three limes since the advent of regionalization..yet some how the [ire departinents aveem 10 manage 10 bave set up an effective comîinunica- lion system aI a cost of only $ 15,000. Ini surnîning up, the Xhitby Chamber of Commerce feels that there are not enough sound logical and economnic reasons 10 justi[y closing the Whitby Police station. We suggest that the budget can be cut in other ways, sucb as a cutback on the proposed communication system, en- abling Whitby residents and businesses 10 retain a local facility and a proper standard of police protection. Chomber of Commerce: "There are not enoui