Bulletproof bylaw officers

http://www.dailycourier.ca/stories.php?id=37492
By Scott Neufeld Tuesday, April 3, 2007

They carry pepper spray, handcuffs and patrol the streets wearing bulletproof vests but that could be just the beginning for city bylaw officers. Vernon‘s bylaw manager Clint Kanester said the city‘s own security officers could one day take on many of the roles reserved for the RCMP.
“I think that‘s the direction bylaw enforcement is being taken in,” he said. “In the future we‘ll see a higher level of bylaw enforcement helping out in areas not always dealt with by the police and the Crown.” In other communities, including Abbotsford and Chilliwack, bylaw officers are responsible for investigating marijuana grow operation complaints. Kelowna has bylaw officers patrolling the streets every night in tandem with the police.

As the officers take on more responsibility for downtown enforcement, Kanester said the Kevlar vests and other defensive tools are vital. “They‘re going into illegal suites where the tenants are less than reputable, they‘re dealing with more street people in the downtown core,” he said. “It also increases the profile of the officers out there.” Vernon could one day go the same route as other cities, but Kanester said local bylaw officers have enough on their plates already. They have been given the responsibility of enforcing the city‘s parks and public spaces bylaw, an effort to tuck open drug use out of sight. So far 18 tickets, including four warnings, have been issued to individuals found in possession of drug paraphernalia or drinking alcohol in public. One individual has received three of the tickets.

Fines range from $100 all the way up to $1,000 for those who refuse to cooperate with the officers. Kanester said the city doesn‘t necessarily expect those who are ticketed to pay the fine. But there has been at least one individual who paid the fine and apologized, he said. “What we‘re doing is identifying some of the problem offenders,” he said. “There‘s not a high likelihood that the tickets will all be repaid, but it‘s a way of getting people out (of parks).” In addition to their day and night patrols downtown, bylaw officers still enforce parking regulations, investigate illegal suites and monitor other bylaw infractions. To keep up with their expanding workload, the bylaw department is in the process of hiring two more officers to patrol at night during the busy summer months. Kanester said the new hires will bring the total number to 13 bylaw staff, many of whom work a part-time shift. “Ultimately it‘s probably a good field to be looking at,” he said. “It‘s a growing field, the responsibilities are getting higher.”