Sudbury letter: Citizens on Patrol not a substitute for real policing

Volunteers cannot approach or apprehend suspects, investigate crimes or replace an actual police presence Levack is once again under fire. Two garbage bins, including a city dumpster by our arena, were set ablaze downtown this week, yet the city and our councillor's response is to point residents toward COPS — Citizens on Patrol. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. My husband and I have a name for that program: 'Keeping you safe until dark.' Article content Let's be realistic. COPS volunteers cannot approach or apprehend suspects, investigate crimes or replace an actual police presence. At best, they are the temporary eyes and ears of the community, and if our experience this summer is any indication, those eyes and ears may simply be told by the Greater Sudbury Police Service, 'we have no one in your area.' I won't be volunteering for these patrols, and neither, apparently, will our councillor, who did not respond when I asked whether he would participate. We don't need another responsibility handed to residents. We need resources and real solutions. Residents and business owners have already stepped up. They have purchased and funded security cameras themselves for downtown Levack because the city has repeatedly declined to make that investment, despite a history of arson. The irony is hard to miss: the city has now lost numerous garbage bins to fires, costing thousands of dollars to replace.