Police Tweet awareness of Canada Day mayhem
Posted by Tom Megginson | 1-07-2012 16:13 | Category: Government
The Police Department of Sarnia, Ontario, are raising awareness of the annual increases crime and public disorder associated with drunken Canada Day celebrations in a novel way.
Using their Twitter feed, today Sarnia Police Service will be Tweeting a "virtual ride-along", reporting all arrests and police interventions as they happen.
“Canada Day does tend to be busy for us,” Const. Heather Emmons told The Toronto Star, “We want to focus on it being a family-friendly day and not let a few rowdy people ruin it for everybody else. “
She said that for the past few years, the force has answered an average of 100 calls during an eight-hour period on the holiday. Most of them relate to public intoxication, disturbances and trespassing.
“It’s sort of a virtual ride-along where people can follow us and see where we’re going, what we’re doing and what we’re dealing with."
I really like this campaign. I can only imagine what a pain in the ass it is for police officers to deal with drunken hosers all day and evening long. While I think the fact that Ontario outlaws responsible liquor consumption in public places is stupid, I applaud any effort to raise awareness of the more asinine (and all-too-common) acts of drunk driving, violence and verbal abuse, and property damage. Raising awareness, in a raw (hopefully) neutral way, is always a good thing.Advertiser:
Sarnia Police Services
Source:
Toronto Star
