Editor: I was shocked to learn that the Burnaby RCMP’s highly effective bike patrols were going to be discontinued. The decision to replace them with civilian bylaw officers does little to increase the public’s safety. That is not to say that the bylaw officers are not needed, but they do not serve the same purpose. How much more effective is it for an RCMP officer to be on the scene, as opposed to a bylaw officer who “observes and reports”?
During the past few years, there seems to have been a great emphasis on community policing The bike squads were so effective in this area. I have often seen children and adults talking to bike patrol members, something I feel would not happen if the officers were in cars.
Would this interaction not serve to build community relationships as well as allow the officers insight into what is happening?
Nita Tuan, Burnaby
