Transit cops now armed

[no1important]

Vancouver transit police given new powers to arrest, carry guns

A teaser:


VANCOUVER (CP) - Transit police in Vancouver are now carrying guns and have been given new powers to arrest people outside stations who may be dealing drugs or committing other crimes and using the trains as a get-away system.

It is the first transit police force in Canada to be given such powers. About 70 officers have been trained and have met the same qualifications required to work for a municipal force.

They follow the same rules and regulations as other police officers when it comes to use of force and firearms.

"This is the first unit of its kind in the country," said Solicitor General John Les as he introduced the new force Monday at the downtown Waterfront Station.

"They are a fully trained and fully equipped transit police force and they have the full authority to enforce drug laws, to execute outstanding warrants and to arrest people who commit crimes outside SkyTrain stations." [/teaser]

Personally I do not think that is necessary. It will cause more trouble than it is worth.

 

[peapod]

Uh huh...and did you hear about this one, kinda interesting. British columbia now hires @ 20.00 dollars an hour, individuals to tail and follow dangerous, repeat child molesters, who have served their time, but are deemed a threat. No, I am not talking about priests, at the moment

 

[DasFX]

Vancouver transit police given new powers to arrest, carry guns.

Of course they have guns. The key word here is Transit POLICE! I mean, all police persons have guns, why should they be any different. Perhaps if they were Transit Security Guards, then it would be an issue.

As long as they are trained properly in a similar manner as regular police, I see nothing wrong.

 

[cdn_bc_ca]

Pretty soon they will think that they *are* police and demand better wages, benefits, uniforms, etc...

Get ready to pay more for your ride...

 

[the caracal kid]

i always liked the honour system on skytrain and seabus. A responsible society should have trust in its citizens and in turn the citizens should uphold that trust.

I remember when this was first talked about and the argument over which approach to take to make public transit was going strong. Locking down the systems with ticket checks and turnstyles assumes all are untrustworthy where full-fledged police are only a threat to those that would use the system as not intended (free rides, drug dealing, etc). As such, i prefer the transit police over other options.

 

[bevvyd]

Pretty soon they will think that they *are* police and demand better wages, benefits, uniforms, etc...

Get ready to pay more for your ride...

Good news cdn bc ca, they have been part of the transit union for a long long time so your fares won't be going up anytime soon, at least not because of this. It was a cushy post for a trained cop to get a Transit Cop position, same pay, better working conditions, better benefits and you could only issue fines or restrain someone until the real cops showed up. Now they have to go back into cop mode and hopefully will actually be OUT there at the stations and on the trains. Seems the Sky Train Attendants prefer the Crew Rooms.

 

[cdn_bc_ca]

Good news cdn bc ca, they have been part of the transit union for a long long time so your fares won't be going up anytime soon, at least not because of this. It was a cushy post for a trained cop to get a Transit Cop position, same pay, better working conditions, better benefits and you could only issue fines or restrain someone until the real cops showed up. Now they have to go back into cop mode and hopefully will actually be OUT there at the stations and on the trains. Seems the Sky Train Attendants prefer the Crew Rooms.

I hope you're right...

 

[..35]

Great idea. The police deal with pretty much nothing but scum. I seriously can't figure out why people would be against this.