ROTHENBURGER: Weapons haul indicates a need for a lot more ‘disrupting’

You’ll notice that there are no actual firearms in that haul. Much of it is stuff you can pick up at the hardware store. The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, the police team from the Coast that collected it all, noted in a press release that many of the items are “everyday tools for the general public,” but can be used as dangerous weapons in the commission of crime.

That, to me, is a real eye-opener, not just the variety of weapons but the magnitude of the weaponry that was confiscated in the short period of four days by stopping 78 vehicles and checking 132 people. We obviously have a mobile army of armed drug-trade personnel out there.

My question is, being that the Special Enforcement Unit is so effective when called into action, why wait for a shooting?

Why not do regular sweeps, say every few weeks? There were, according to police, 50 officers including RCMP involved in the investigation and the operation aimed at “disrupting” the drug trade and gang activity on those four days.

I know it’s a matter of available personnel, but it would be a good place to invest in police resources. A lot more “disrupting” is clearly in order.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

——

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

by Armchair Mayor

ROTHENBURGER: Weapons haul indicates a need for a lot more ‘disrupting’

Our Community