Runaway Future

A post by Matt Good yesterday caught my eye. In it, he describes private security guards in yellow jackets patrolling his neighbourhood to prevent crime. Hired on by the local business association. He’s quick to note that:

They have absolutely no legal authority, cannot lawfully touch another person, ask them questions, ask them for identification, or ask them to ‘move along’ when on public property.

Other people commenting mentioned that the city of Vancouver is trying to clean itself up in preparation for the 2010 Olympic Games.

The reason it caught my eye is because here on the East Coast, we have our own chuckleheads coming in with shiny jackets and funny hats. It’s worth noting that they’re coming without the endorsement of the Mayor or the Chief of Police. And although people like Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa and Halifax Counselor Linda Mosher keep saying that the residents of Halifax want the Angels in town, I’ve heard nothing but apprehension from anyone I’ve talked to about it, a list that ranges from cab drivers, to old people in my elevator, to friends to co-workers. This apprehension on how it will all work out and how the Angels will in fact operate is an opinion shared by the Mayor and the Police, but instead of addressing these concerns, it’s full steam ahead for the Angels, come hell or high water.

It’s also worth noting that other then being “around” and reporting suspicious or dangerous activity, there’s little the group can legally do. Just like the yellow jackets in Vancouver, these red berets walk a fine line, something that might be more trouble then it is worth. Police Chief Beazley is concerned that there will be physical confrontations and other problems involving the Angels, problems that will add to an already taxing workload for existing police officers.

Of course, if the police were doing the job adequately in the first place, we wouldn’t be at this juncture in the road to begin with.