Editor:
Recently, the media has been full of reports critical of police departments all over North America.
It got me to thinking – when is the last time we saw a news report relating to wrongdoing by the New Westminster Police Department?
When was the last time even an accusation made it to publication?
I do not suggest the department is perfect. Indeed, as it made up of human beings, and since humans are (aren’t we all?) imperfect, it logically follows.
However, when judged against their peers on both sides of the border, they fare very well.
Another reason why New Westminster is a great place to live.
Chris Dumfries, New Westminster
Editor’s note: According to a 2019 story in the Record, B.C.’s police standards commissioner opened 38 files on the New Westminster Police Department in the 2018/19 fiscal year, including 17 registered complaints against the force. That’s double the number of files opened in 2017/18 (19 files), but still well below the 50 to 73 files opened annually between 2014/15 and 2016/17, according to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner’s annual report. You can read more here.
