And instead of the new car! They wound up with the pig wagon.
Two years ago, the Hamilton Police Service purchased four used 2002 Ford Crown Victoria cruisers which had previously been part of the Brantford police fleet.
Hamilton's policy at the time was to rebuild patrol cars when they reached 150,000 kilometres on the odometer. The idea was to purchase used cruisers for a reasonable amount, introduce them into the patrol car fleet and then rebuild them when necessary. They quickly realized they got taken and before the egg on their face was even dry, Hamilton Police Service scrapped the used-car experiment for good.
At the time of purchase, the four cruisers had come off a two-year lease and each car had racked up between 95,000 to 110,000 kilometres. Brantford leases all 15 of its police cruisers in two-year intervals, and the Hamilton Police Service paid about $10,000 each for four of the cars once the leases expired. But the used-car project turned out to be a dismal failure.
Two of the four cars aren't even part of the Hamilton fleet any more and the other two are no longer used as patrol cars.
One of the two remaining cars travelled just 18,000 kilometres in its first two years and cost Hamilton police $11,600 in maintenance and repair costs over that time.
That's a whopping 64 cents per kilometre in maintenance costs, not including gas.
The other remaining Brantford castoff travelled almost 48,000 kilometres in its first two years and cost Hamilton $16,500 for maintenance and repairs. That works out to 34 cents per kilometre.
Police Services says it will now only buy new. Good idea! What now? I suggest somebody down at the Police services pick up a copy of the "Lemon Car Guide" before they go shopping again.
Later,
Kenaz
Saturday, October 21, 2006
For whom the bell tolls
The bell tolls for you Acting Hamilton Police Chief Tom Marlor. Why? Because of his incredible lack of leadership.
This year hasn't been a great one for this cities cops. Accusations of corruption and abuse of power have caused enough doubt in many peoples minds as to second guess the ability of many of those who are paid to serve and protect. This could lead to serious problems in public relations and general trust between the public and officers.
The latest incident involves a man stepping off a bus and grabbed by two cops and thrown in jail for doing nothing wrong. If I hadn't read the bi-line that read "Hamilton", I would have easily thought the story was from Beirut or Kandahar.
The man in question is Michael Dixon. A break-in occurred during the Aug. 14, 2003, blackout. Hamilton police were looking for a Caucasian suspect. Dixon is black.
Dixon begged the officers who nabbed him to check with the driver of the bus he had just exited on his way home from work in Toronto. They wouldn't. He sat in jail for almost four days; for nine months he lived under strict bail conditions. Three times, an assistant Crown attorney demanded the two arresting officers interview Dixon's alibi witnesses. That never happened. All charges were eventually dropped.
Dixon tried to file a complaint but a staff sergeant refused to give him the forms. He pursued the complaint and a police internal affairs investigation exonerated the officers. He complained to the Ontario Civilian Commission for Police Services; Peel police were ordered to investigate and concluded serious misconduct had occurred. The OCCPS ordered Hamilton police to lay charges. The two constables pleaded guilty. Their sentence was three days' lost pay. That's less time than Dixon spent in jail.
Dixon is yet another victim of shoddy police work. Another honest citizen denied his basic rights which include the right to file a complaint. And yet another incident in which an internal investigation has draped the thin blue curtain around a case in an effort to cover up and silence a complaint that would clearly point to substandard police work, and possibly racism.
If the Hamilton Police where a sports team the coach would be fired and every member of the team would be forced to go back to basics. In this case, back to the classroom for more sensitivity training and hands on training in public diversity awareness.
Simply saying I'm sorry and dismissing the claims of race bias is not enough. It's another cop out, and leaves everyone with a bad taste in their mouth. The tarnished brass face some serious ethical questions that include racial bias and shody investigating. I'm sorry, but this time the situation cannot be swept under the rug as Marlor is attempting to do.
Chief Brian Mullan must show his metal and address Dixon's complaints in a straightforward manner or risk being drowned in the flood of popular opinion that could sweep the city if he doesn't scrutinize the integrity of internal investigations and seriously consider that a police service should not investigate itself.
And he must ensure that all police officers -- whatever their rank -- are doing their jobs fully and properly. If he doesn't than he should be out of work.
Later,
Kenaz
This year hasn't been a great one for this cities cops. Accusations of corruption and abuse of power have caused enough doubt in many peoples minds as to second guess the ability of many of those who are paid to serve and protect. This could lead to serious problems in public relations and general trust between the public and officers.
The latest incident involves a man stepping off a bus and grabbed by two cops and thrown in jail for doing nothing wrong. If I hadn't read the bi-line that read "Hamilton", I would have easily thought the story was from Beirut or Kandahar.
The man in question is Michael Dixon. A break-in occurred during the Aug. 14, 2003, blackout. Hamilton police were looking for a Caucasian suspect. Dixon is black.
Dixon begged the officers who nabbed him to check with the driver of the bus he had just exited on his way home from work in Toronto. They wouldn't. He sat in jail for almost four days; for nine months he lived under strict bail conditions. Three times, an assistant Crown attorney demanded the two arresting officers interview Dixon's alibi witnesses. That never happened. All charges were eventually dropped.
Dixon tried to file a complaint but a staff sergeant refused to give him the forms. He pursued the complaint and a police internal affairs investigation exonerated the officers. He complained to the Ontario Civilian Commission for Police Services; Peel police were ordered to investigate and concluded serious misconduct had occurred. The OCCPS ordered Hamilton police to lay charges. The two constables pleaded guilty. Their sentence was three days' lost pay. That's less time than Dixon spent in jail.
Dixon is yet another victim of shoddy police work. Another honest citizen denied his basic rights which include the right to file a complaint. And yet another incident in which an internal investigation has draped the thin blue curtain around a case in an effort to cover up and silence a complaint that would clearly point to substandard police work, and possibly racism.
If the Hamilton Police where a sports team the coach would be fired and every member of the team would be forced to go back to basics. In this case, back to the classroom for more sensitivity training and hands on training in public diversity awareness.
Simply saying I'm sorry and dismissing the claims of race bias is not enough. It's another cop out, and leaves everyone with a bad taste in their mouth. The tarnished brass face some serious ethical questions that include racial bias and shody investigating. I'm sorry, but this time the situation cannot be swept under the rug as Marlor is attempting to do.
Chief Brian Mullan must show his metal and address Dixon's complaints in a straightforward manner or risk being drowned in the flood of popular opinion that could sweep the city if he doesn't scrutinize the integrity of internal investigations and seriously consider that a police service should not investigate itself.
And he must ensure that all police officers -- whatever their rank -- are doing their jobs fully and properly. If he doesn't than he should be out of work.
Later,
Kenaz
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