We talk about many homeless people having mental health problems, but when you read Police reports about who they have arrested, you have to wonder if many “criminals” are also mentally sick. Often they break probation conditions, drive without a licence or car insurance and flee from police. They are often caught in routine traffic stops – presumably because of suspicious behaviour – then found in possession of drugs or prohibited weapons even while on probation. Why would anyone in their right mind do that? But over the last several days, Cobourg police have been busy catching – then mostly releasing – many of these unfortunate souls. Below is a summary of announcements since Christmas day. We know that police have been busy with other matters (e.g. the stranded VIA passengers) so this is not a list of their activities – just a list of arrests.
On Christmas Day at 9:20 pm, a traffic stop in the area of Elgin Street West caught a 36-year-old Port Hope woman wanted by the Cobourg Police Service on two outstanding warrants including “Flight from Peace Officer”. She was charged with 8 new offences related to the vehicle and having no documentation. She was held for a bail hearing then released with a court date.
December 30, 2022, a food delivery had been stolen off the front porch of a residence (no location provided). Police reviewed video surveillance footage and identified the individual. They then arrested a 28-year-old Cobourg man. One of the charges was “Fail to Comply with Probation”. He was released with a court date.
On Monday, January 2, 2023, at 2:45 pm, police were called to a business on Division Street after receiving a report of a theft in progress. Staff advised police that a woman had stolen merchandise and was last seen walking southbound on Division Street. Police located a woman matching the description provided and arrested her. Since she had some methamphetamine and provided a false name and date of birth she was also charged with “possession of a schedule 1 substance” and “obstruct peace officer”. She was held for a bail hearing.
On Monday, January 2, 2023, at 9:10 pm, police on general patrol conducted a traffic stop on D’Arcy Street and found a Cobourg man “wanted on warrant by another police service and is currently on a weapons prohibition order and probation order.” Cody Puffer (33) was charged with 10 offences including possession of a prohibited device, passion of prohibited drugs, possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime, possession of break in instruments and breach of probation. The accused was released on an undertaking with a future court date (February 8, 2023) and turned over to the police service with the warrant.
On Monday, January 2, 2023, a caller to Police reported that an individual had stolen merchandise from his store on Elgin Street West. But the store had video surveillance which meant that the next day, police arrested a 48-year-old Cobourg man. And guess what – he was also charged with “Fail to Comply with Probation”. He was held for a show cause hearing and was remanded into custody.
Then on December 30 there were RIDE checks at 10:40 pm in the area of Division Street at Station Street that ended up with people being charged:
- A 61-year-old Baltimore man – impaired but also no driver’s licence he “was released on an undertaking with a future court date.”
- Police also charged two drivers with driving while under suspension
- A 34-year-old Baltimore woman was charged with driving under suspension and operating a motor vehicle on a highway with no insurance. The car was towed from the scene.
On December 31, at 1:50 am, police conducted a traffic stop. As a result of the police investigation, a 49-year-old Gores Landing man was charged with driving while under suspension and improperly displaying his licence plate and having no permit. The vehicle was towed from the scene.
Then on January 3 at 11:10 am, police were called to the area of Elgin Street East for a report of a driver unconscious in a vehicle in a parking lot. Police located an individual in the driver’s seat with the vehicle running. A 31-year-old Harwood man was arrested but later released on an undertaking with a future court date.
But one woman seems to have had second thoughts. On Wednesday, January 4, 2022, a 58-year-old Cobourg woman walked into the King Street Police Station (file photo above) and turned herself in because of 2 outstanding warrants for theft. She was later released on an undertaking with a scheduled court date on February 8, 2023.
More detail on all these is available in Press Releases from the Police – see Resources below. Generally there is no explanation as to why some suspects are held – at least for a while – and some released.
Resources
- Police Press Releases
- Crimeplot – map of some recent incidents
Print Article:
Cobourg, Ont. woman arrested for sending harassing emails to police – Peterborough | Globalnews.ca
and
Cobourg woman arrested for online buy-and-sell fraud: police – Peterborough | Globalnews.ca
Curious that Council hasn’t addressed the vagrancy, petty crime, and
bad behaviour issues this term. When have you heard a Councillor place these concerns on any agenda? Guess they don’t care.
Eastender
Exactly what do you believe Council can to correct the individual behaviors you are referring to?
Keith
Are you saying the identified issues are beyond the purview of council or that council is incapable of contributing as a partner or stake holder.
Last I looked, the Town needed to give approval for the small cabins you ve be championing in this discussion. Some believe this will help with the vagrancy.
Council can work with the police and province for more portable CCTV’s. Work with police in seeking deployment of their aux officers and special constables for foot patrols. Utilization of CPTED in the planning process of new buildings and subdivisions.
Working with police and community to bring in the CAMSAFE program
CAMSafe is designed to provide a starting point for officers to obtain video footage to assist an investigation. For example, if a crime occurs in your neighbourhood, an officer can log into CAMSafe, determine who has cameras registered and request footage from the owners.
And before you scream invasion of the state, this is optional to the citizen and voluntary on their part…no coercion.
Working with other communities to identify best practices. A coordinated multi- municipal wide campaign to petition the Province to change court practices and create substantive diversion.programs that hold people accountable- cleaning garbage and graffiti would be a start.
Better to offer suggestions than question with tone of defeat.
Feel free to offer some of suggestions. The more ideas the better. Wouldnt you agree Keith?
Pete M
Eastender stated Council has failed to act on three types of individual behavior. That’s easy to say. My quest to him was … just what can Council do considering how limited Councils’ responsibilities are. In general they are; to hear from citizens, set policy for staff to implement, and to perform an oversight function.
I never have approved of tiny bedrooms! However, of this is the best we can do, now, with people in cotinuing need and with all its’ faults … Do it! Do something!
I have circulated 24 copies of a different solution which clusters the tiny unts, provides better shelter, is less expensive per individual served, has no waste, and can be converted into a single family house when a permanent solution to homelessness is created.
The main problem is that the desperately homeless represent only a small percentage of the population and there is much red tape to overcome and no political will to solve the problem.
I disagree with ur assumption of council and its three roles. A committed and motivated elected official can bring about change. Look at bike lanes in T.O. and other initiatives that have happened in T.O. some good some bad, but driven by different councillors.
Companies relocate to new communities because of the efforts of councillors to incentivise their move. Bringing needed economic stimulus hopefully
You say you circulated 24 copies. Maybe Mr Draper would allow you to post a copy here. It would be interesting to see and someone might have suggestions to improve what you have started.
You look at homelessness as those as “desperately “homeless, as though there are different degrees of homelessness. Homelessness is homelessness.
Shelter is one need but providing shelter is treating a symptom.
We need to examine the different reason that led to the homelessness in the first place—–
Drugs
Mental illness
Family unit break down
Lack of extended family support.
Underemployment
Unemployment.
How do we create support teams to treat,assist and be life guides.
Again this is not solely a municipal responsibility, but one where they can partner with different levels of govt and NGO’s to remove red tape and foster unique solutions
The fact that this little Town had so many issues is such a short period of time indicates that there is a more serious issue with our town security .
There where far more incidents than this prior to the Issuance of this article
that have never been resolved or even published .
is Concerning To All that live here .
It is not just those on this blog who think that catch-and-release is a failure. See today’s CP24 for a litany of the failures. https://www.cp24.com/news/a-view-from-the-top/a-catch-and-release-justice-system-is-not-working-for-canadians-lewis-1.6221736
Heres another from the national post about a theft from an Art Gallery in Vancouver in which the perpetrator has 115 convictions:
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/colby-cosh-what-a-gallery-heist-says-about-our-justice-system
Get a load of these two pieces written by Pete Fisher: Cobourg Police – Port Hope Woman Spends Christmas In Jail Following Numerous Charges – Today’s Northumberland – Your Source For What’s Happening Locally and Beyond (todaysnorthumberland.ca)
and
Editorial – Ghosts In The System Need to Be Held Accountable – Today’s Northumberland – Your Source For What’s Happening Locally and Beyond (todaysnorthumberland.ca)
Reply to Ken Strauss and Wally Keeler and the two newspaper articles referred to.
The article covering the Port Hope woman is about twice ignoring her bail conditions regarding non-operating offences involved in the ownership of a vehicle.
To be clear she was not charged with operating offences such as being “under the influence”.
She did try to flee the scene of the second apprehension which indicates to me that she is probably in most urgent need of councelling to say the least, instead of the treatment you both might approve of which would involve having her chained to the wall without a pot to pee in while the court system gets its’ act together.
In paragraph 11 of the CP24 article by Chris Lewis on the failure of “catch and release” he states “In the majority of criminal cases, the release of the accused on bail is obviously not a risk …”. From there he deals with the release of pathological killers, where, if accurate, he has a case, but which clearly doesn’t apply to individuals referred to in the recent Cobourg Police report.
Back home, the Port Hope woman was not charged with wearing a mismatching sweater and skirt while discharging a machine gun during a childrens’ Christmas party … it mainly concerned paperwork related to her automobile ownership.
Keith,
You are aware that the original charges involve her having a person Gerald Cooper wanted a Canada Wide parole warrant in her vehicle—Federal Offender and career criminal. The officer was attempting to arrest this person when she sped off dragging and injuring the officer?
This was a wilful act and as dangerous as an impaired driver and I would say even more dangerous.
Thankfully she is apprehended. She was given bail, released with conditions with her promise to return back to court for her charges to be heard and processed.
Our courts held up their end of the bargain innocence until proven guilty.
She decided to thumb her nose at the court and made a wilful decision not to participate in the court process, even though being legally required to.
Then she continues to drive while in violation of her court conditions, in a vehicle whos operation is in numerous violations of the Highway Traffic Act, an Act to ensure vehicles meet certain safety standards and are operated safely and properly to protect other road users, cyclist and so on.
This is a person who has made wilful decisions not to respect society’s law and live in her life in opposition to those laws.
But you think a few sessions of counselling, hugs and kumbaya will correct this woman’s path in life?
Some time in Lindsay, for a period of sombre reflection that the Courts and tthe citizens of Northumberland wont tolerate this behaviour, is more in order for her
Now if the woman was wearing a MAGA sweater with a I support Trump hat driving a jacked up diesel truck spewing black smoke blaring Country music with a bumper sticker of an AR15, and another saying climate change is false, Keith would be calling for her immediate apprehension and no release until she changed her beliefs.
Pete M
Again stop putting words in my mouth. I don’t do that to you. Don’t do it to me. Your flippent, disrespectful behaviour only undermines anything you have to say and provides me with an opportunity to print that out to others.
I would relish the opportunity to have a respectful conversation with a Trump supporter; even the most extreme such as Roger Stone, Keri Lake, Alex Jones, and especially the lawyers Rudi Giuliani (once a very respected mayor of New York), and especially Sidney Powell.
They don’t need jail time, that’s pure revenge and pointless. They need to be challenged and made to defend in public the nonsense they represent and perpetuate. Their distructive influence on American Democracy and the Republican Party will take at least a decade to heal if we’re lucky.
Mr Oliver commented, “stop putting words in my mouth. I don’t do that to you. Don’t do it to me. Your flippent, disrespectful behaviour…”
On the very same day, Mr Oliver asserted the suggestion that Ken and myself would approve of “having her chained to the wall.“
Wow! Talk about flippant, disrespectful verbiage. His smear that I and Ken would approve of such a cruelly violent act is totally fabricated out of thin air. When one is unable to compose a cogent argument, they resort to fantasy, not truth.
Keith,
Anyone who follows this blog knows your pet causes and political leanings- Liberals good, Conservatives bad. This is confirmed as all one has to do is look further down this topic thread to see ur post about Mike Harris and his govt and their cuts. Its been 20.plus years since Harris. We’ve had two liberal govts since Harris. If the problems still persist then those liberal govts share responsibility for their existence as much as the Harris govt.
What I take exception with is that you minimize this woman’s actions as some minor driving infractions and an over reaction by the police and people commenting here.
It was her association with a Federal parole violator and her wilful negligent driving actions; dragging a police officer that put her in the situation that finds her before the courts. Her problems are further compounded by her failure to comply with court imposed conditions that you describe as merely some paperwork over an automobile ownership.
The original act was an act of violence an assault on a police officer with a vehicle. An officer sworn to.protect you and me and all the citizens of Cobourg. This women should not be in the driver seat of any vehicle.
This officer will now have live with the trauma of being dragged by this vehicle, wondering if they would live or die. Their spouse wil worry even more if they are coming home at the end of their shift.
This women needs to be held accountable for this assault and that is more than counselling sessions. It means a period of custody with the necessary supports, but custody none the less..
Your mocking comments about mismatched sweater, machine gun at Christmas etc are uncalled for and do a disservice and are an insult to the officer doing his duty, who
will be permanently scarred –emotionally and physically.
I hope after you read this you will appreciate the sacrifice this officer made that day and maybe just maybe realize the necessity of holding this women accountable for her actions and that means jail.
I believe in supporting the police especially when they are attacked.I hope you would be as supportive of the police and what they do. As supportive as the other causes you so passionately talk about and defend in this blog.
“instead of the treatment you both might approve of which would involve having her chained to the wall without a pot to pee in while the court system gets its’ act together.”
Sorry to bust your bloated bubble Mr Oliver, but I absolutely DO NOT approve of chaining any woman to a wall. What an incredibly stupid assertion to make!!
You could look into becoming her surety and see what you can do for her and let us know how you make out?
We should not call any person stupid. I worked with developmentally challenged adults. Yes, most were slow thinkers but some could come up with deep and insightful thoughts often enough. But,I had police officers in and out of my office because this group were often the victims of ‘somewhat smarter’ criminals. Sexual assault was a common problem directed towards this vulnerable group of people.
From that job I moved to Cobourg and taught at Brookside. After a student was in my class for a while and a desk became empty in front of my desk many of these students – found guilty of a crime, some very serious – would ask if they could move to that empty desk. In a day or two I would hear the most horrendous stories. Of those boys, who bared their sole to me, at least half would end up telling me about when they were little and they were sexually assaulted. Typically the assaulter was a step father to the then child. These kids became teenagers with lots of aggression and anger towards the whole world.
So, I think, if we had to walk in their shoes we also would end up with the same ‘adult’
behaviours that we see in many of our homeless people and petty criminals today.
They should be held responsible for their actions but perhaps if we had a system of rehabilitation homes available, then therapy and security could be provided. Perhaps subsidized housing could be available as they improved and moved on from their therapy. But these social services hardly exist.
It would improve our (fairly good) society and probably reduce overall social costs/ policing etc. if we could get these people off the streets and into some reasonable and somewhat supervised housing. Have a heart. Thanks.
Doug – When I made my comment it was because of a few here I knew had no such terrible home life. They grew up without being corrected and directed. Show no desire for change, have been incarcerated a few times all ready. They think they are just fine.
However you have a point on some. My wife knew a fellow in her youth. His parents both alcoholics. When he got in trouble he was sent into the juvenile system. His father attended at sentencing declaring just before sentencing – “you can keep him until he’s 21” then turned on his heel and strode out. They kept him then until he was 16. Released his mother gave him her address now moved to another city. When he arrived he found she had given him the wrong address. He did find her after 2 weeks of sleeping under apartment stairs in various buildings. Her new boy friend didn’t like him so out he went. He turned to speed developing a full blown addiction, injecting daily. He went up the chain finally landing in Burwash The light went on. He quit drugs. And took the offer of his uncle who had told him – get off drugs and you have a home with me. The uncle had a garage and so he learned a trade and did not go back to his former drug use. Yes he had a terrible early life but there are many today that have chosen the path they are on with no desire to change their ways.
The justice system has weakened. Worse yet we in the community are told you aren’t even allowed to know who are the offenders inflicting their life style upon us.
Doug, after release how many of them went on to law abiding lives?
We had no access to contact after they left Brookside. But I will confess that one or two made the front cover of the Toronto Star and not for good reasons.
I moved from Brookside to Bowmanville HS. Three former students from Brookside walked into Bowmanville HS to see me and signed up to complete HS there. Two moved elsewhere but one definitely graduated with Grade 12. I never shared my address or phone # or address with any (Ha) so I can’t say how many made it to the good side. I wonder if we have any stats about what % of Young Offenders become adult offenders?
Doug you may have your wish soon. The Tiny Homes people are to meet with the Planning Department next week with reported a well prepared proposal for these homes situated in the Memorial Arena. Apparently various Cobourg business have donated to their fund raising campaign.
See article – Northumberland News
The list of donors should be public so that we know which businesses to avoid. Are there any other than Spark Toys, All Creatures Great and Small, Ten Thousand Villages, Let’s Talk Books, Dandelion Moon Holistic Services, George and Orange and Showtime TV to add to the avoid list?
Ken
What an atrocious statement to make!
While I believe the tiny sleeping cabin project is not the right solution and may serve as a distraction from the abject and immoral failure of local government to find a solution, I admire the citizens who make up the Northumberland Sleeping Cabin Collective (NSCC) and their supporters who have made this praiseworthy effort to get something, anything, done!
Keith
You may find his comments atrocious, but does he not have the right spend his money where he chooses? Does he not have a right to express that people shouldn’t support the small cabin project.
It is up to the people to decide whether they agree with his statements and whether they will or will not support the business and the cause.
In a free and democratic society there will be those atrocious statements, but I much prefer that , than being told what to think and where to contribute to.
Pete M
What Ken recommended is that those who disagree with tiny cabins as one means of providing a secure shelter for the homeless, attack the businesses that support the project. That is an attempt to personally punish someone Ken disagrees with.
Debate the pros and cons of an issue, suggest and possibly promote an alternative, spend your money where it best satisfies your needs, but not as a means of punishing those you simply disagree with.
To do as Ken recommends could disrupt the market place and if done on a large enough scale could cause chaos and destabilize the free-market economic system, at least locally.
Imagine if this “tool” was implemented during an election.
Keith, absurd overestimation of the influence of anyone in Cobourg does not advance your argument. Perhaps you are referring to something like the ESG movement which is attempting to eliminate funding for petroleum production. Do you object to their actions?
Ken
The Environmental, Social and Governance (EDG) strategy that you refer to is a widely accepted planning initiative used by business, governments and non-profit organizations to prepare for orderly change.
When it comes to reducing petroleum production by eliminating Federal subsidies, which you sight as an example, the ESG strategy often includes retraining workers and building improved suporting infrastructure. In the case of reducing our dependance on petroleum and substituting sustainable electricity, that would include building a cross Canada electrical distribution corridor.
ESG has nothing to do with your statement that businesses that support the local tiny bedroom project be punished by people withdrawing their patronage.
Keith, I made no mention of “Federal subsidies”; where is that from?
More accurately, ESG is a coercive effort by a tiny cabal to impose their will on the majority.
I mentioned the evils of ESG since it is a perfect, currently relevant, example of the catastrophic economic consequences resulting from attempting to destroy businesses because of opinion differences. Based on your reply, you appear to think that destroying Canada’s economy is laudable but that it is unacceptable to refuse to shop at local businesses having policies with which one disagrees.
Ken
According to the above, and in the context of this discussion thread, you disagree with businesses who chose to support an effort by volunteers to create temporary housing for the homeless.
Please correct me if I’m wrong and explain why.
Simple, Keith.
My suggestion was that shoppers not patronize merchants who support projects that are detrimental to their interests. That represents a choice of how residents use their personal resources.
As you noted, the ESG movement is based on a “planning initiative used by business, governments and non-profit organizations to prepare for orderly change“. That is, those without skin-in-the-game are conniving to subvert rational choices and effect change using the resources of others. The “businesses” are mostly fiduciaries such as BlackRock and pension plans who want to advance their personal agenda using the resources of others.
Ken
How is providing shelter for the homeless detrimental to the interests of Cobourg citizens?
Isn’t getting people off the streets in the interests of all Cobourg citizens?
Therefore, is not your advice to citizens to refuse to patronize business that support the NSCC and their tiny cabin project, not wrong?
Should you not do the right thing and withdraw that advice?
I don’t believe that allowing a shantytown in a parking lot is in the best interests of Cobourg. Obviously we disagree.
Ken
You state “ESG is a coersive effort by a tiny cabal to impose their will on the majority.”
If you searçh the web for firms adopting an ESG Strategy you will find; HSBC in the UK, the largest bank in Europe; US Franklin Templeton Investment Advisors; ING Bank of the Netherlands and La Bangue Postal of France among many other businesses. Hardly a tiny cabal!
Keith, all in your list are financial institutions who “manage” the assets of others. Their executives are using other people’s money to advance their personal agenda. Their executives are a tiny cabal!
Ken
That well established investment advisors are interested in businesses that incorporate ESG planning strategy is testiment to the fact that ESG Stragic Planning identifies businesses with a promising and profitable future.
A list of those businesses includes; Apple, Verizon’s Commications, PepsiCo, PayPal, Cisco Systems. Amazon is reported to be halfway through its’ ESG Strat Plan process. Hardly a tiny cabal!
Keith, it appears that you have swallowed the questionable hypothesise that ESG improves profitability. You might find the article at https://qz.com/work/2038103/is-mckinsey-wrong-about-the-financial-benefits-of-diversity interesting. This is the same McKinsey that brought us the failed $54M ArriveCan app…
Wow. AN ATTACK- I never knew Ken Strauss had that much sway and power.
” To do what Ken recommends could disrupt the market place on large scale”
There will be those that agree with Ken and decline to shop their. But there are others who will disagree with Ken and shop there and buy something just to support the business
All will be well in Cobourg
It is the ESG that Ken talks about that we should be concerned with-
ESG as a way to drive a progressive agenda and ideological allies in the business community help push this agenda through economic coercion and ignoring democratic processes.
“What an atrocious statement to make!“
According to Merriam-Webster atrocious means “1. extremely wicked, brutal or cruel: BARBARIC. 2. appalling, horrifying, 3. utterly revolting: ABOMINABLE.”
Really Mr Oliver? When Ken suggests private citizens can avoid supporting a particular cause by spending their $$$ elsewhere, you regard that as ‘extremely wicked‘ etc.
You are a well-educated individual with professional experience, but your command of the English language is dismal (M-W “lacking merit : particularly bad.“) Your bloated exaggerations earn a lot of thumbs down. Just sayin’
“Are there any other than Spark Toys, All Creatures Great and Small, Ten Thousand Villages, Let’s Talk Books, Dandelion Moon Holistic Services, George and Orange and Showtime TV to add to the avoid list?”
Well Ken, it is safe to say that you would not be in the market for any of the services of these establishments. You appear not to like children, books of a certain ilk and the proprietor of Showtime TV.
If that is the case then your efforts to influence me with your execrable taste have failed with me.
Just to be clear, Ben, my comments do not reflect malice towards any of the proprietors; I feel that their actions are not in the best interests of Cobourg’s residents and that they should be strongly discouraged. Contrary to your assertion I have made a number of purchases from Let’s Talk Books, George and Orange and Spark Toys.
“Just to be clear, Ben, my comments do not reflect malice towards any of the proprietors;”
But they do if they convey a wish to see economic harm done to these stores/people by advocating a boycott!
In other words, “You may be a person that I do not dislike but I would like to see your business fail because I think you do not have Cobourg’s interests at heart!”
Ben, the only way to influence a business’s harmful behaviour is for potential customers to vote with their wallets. These small business owners could have been made anonymous donations to avoid any consequent impacts on their livelihoods but they didn’t. They wanted to make their support clear to everyone.
“economic harm“
Ken is not recommending economic harm. If I chose not to spend $$$ at a store, it is not harmful to the business, because nothing is being taken away from the business.
If I chose not to spend $$$ at the store, all that happens is that the store does not benefit, but another store might benefit from my business for any arbitrary reason I chose. Capricious competition — gotta love it.
That’s a disgusting comment. Shame on you.
“The list of donors should be public“
Why should a private list of donors be made public? If I want to anonymously donate $20 for a private cause I support, what business is it of yours that my name should be made public?
Isn’t Showtime TV owned/operated by Councilor Burchat?
Yes and he appears to be on Ken’s hitlist – Why don’t you tell us Ken why a three time elected Cobourg Councillor is operating against Cobourg’s interests and as such why you want to encourage an economic boycott of a well established Cobourg business
Ben, Aaron was only elected twice rather than three times. He was defeated in 2014 after garnering about 1800 votes short of making the cut.
If you are curious you should ask him why he donated.
As usual answering a question with a question. Just answer the question!!
“why do you want to encourage an economic boycott of a well established Cobourg business”
Hardly the behaviour of a Cobourg booster!
Ben, it seems obvious that allowing a shantytown in a parking lot has huge downsides. Do you actually want one in your neighbourhood? Or even in your town?
I notice that you haven’t commented on Keith’s support for the destruction of a whole industry that is a huge contributor to Canada’s prosperity. Perhaps you should ask him to explain his rationale also.
No this exchange is between you and me. And you still haven’t told me why you want to destroy the economic life of Cobourg businesses that you disapprove of!
I would suggest that most of the negative comments found here, about sentencing and the implied failure of our legal system, are premature, if not irrelevant.
The police report on which this blog is based covers a very special period, ie that of Christmas/New Years, where past personal experience, successes and failures, Influence personal motivation and behavior.
To compound this the report only describes police actions and not the successes of our legal system which are many. A recent Globe and Mail article describes how our legal system is becoming more focused on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
The indigenous people and their use of “healing circles”, the positive outcomes of “truth and reconciliation” exercises, are slowly being recognized as far more effective responses to crime and anti-social behavior than “captue-and-release” followed by punishment
Hopefully, with more intelligent and objective debate, we’ll continue to improve our criminal justice system!
Comments are not irrelevant as you say. While the Police Report above covers a short period, the Crime Map attached covers 3 months and clearly shows a problem.
This is not just a Cobourg problem. These things are happening everywhere. Catch and release isn’t working. This is society’s problem.
Conor – you have opened a very large discussion. Society has greatly changed. You can’t licence parenthood. Today there are many not prepared or able to raise a child but think it is their right to do. However I am not a politician if they won’t speak out about root causes then we shall continue on with further deterioration and people under human rights demanding the moon.
I would like to see more emphasis around what 99% of the residents here need. Law abiding residents and a safe Town where seniors, kids etc can walk around freely ,not worried for their safety. When you can’t send your kids down for a skate at the frink because of safety concerns then a different approach is needed.
Informed
The real problem is helicopter parents not an increased threat to the safety of unescorted children in our very peaceful town.
Get your head out of the sand.
Informed
Keith has to keep making statements like that because otherwise he would have admit that his 70 plus years of socialistic thought was all for nothing. Socialism failed to deliver the great Utopia he so longs for.
Duh what has Socialism got to do with an opinion about parenting?
Ben – Unfortunately with large benefit payments such as the new child benefit of $600 per month and social service funding you enable people that are a poor fit for being parents without desire to join the work force to have and raise children. Watch the video on Jeffrey Baldwin – generational based on social service assists. First an abusing parent then offspring having their children removed and of all things turned back to the abusive grandmother. Jeffery Baldwin is an example of what happens under socialism. Also the single mothers age 17 deciding due to government payments to keep their children yet ill equipped to raise them Ben.
Pete M
FYI and since you brought the subject up.
I consider myself not a socialist (far too vague a label) but a Social Democrat. That is; one who believes in Freedom under the law and the Free Enterprise economic system, both tempered by Christian Morality.
What fault do you find with the above and what do you believe in? Looking forward to your reply!
All the various dystopian novels written since 1900 present utopia as a tightly controlled society of coercive rules and regs, rules and regs, r&r. Meanwhile the perimeter of freedom slowly contracts.
Really Keith an improved criminal justice system?? I think you ve been hitting the local weed stores a little too heavy for vision therapy.
Because Im seeing a different picture…
4 Ontario Police officers shot and killed–ambushed, in last 4 months. Not to mention the daylight shooting of a Cobourg businessman in his place of work.
Guns are everywhere. A shooting in Toronto barely gets a mention in the local news.
How many locals have died from fentanyl poisoning??
Citizens concerns and fears about being victims of crime are more now than ever.
The local police play the game of catch release then catch and release again.
The offender is now the victim, and victim is the offender for not accepting of the criminal behaviour they encountered is because the offender had a poor upbringing, failed to get an education, is unable to maintain a job, suffers from an addictive disorder. It is the parents fault, the teachers fault, the employers fault, the dealers fault, the LCBO fault.
Why can’t we, the public, know who these people are?? It’s fine to ” show and tell” what they did, but who are they. They’re just “ghosts” who commit crimes. Maybe public shaming would help.
Tucker.
Remember the Town motto…the feel good town.
Shaming them would hurt their feelings…
Identifying them would reveal their failings and transgressions publicly. This goes against everything they ve been taught in schools…nobody fails and everybody gets a ribbon whether successful or not.
When I was a court reporter for the Cobourg Sentinel Star, I sat in the courtroom alongside the Peterborough Examiner, CHUC News and the Port Hope Evening Guide. One day the court officer came over to us and explained that four teens were coming up, charged with drinking underage. We were asked not to report on this because the parents of the four boys were very important people in Cobourg. I said that I couldn’t do this because I was employed to report. The court officer suggested that I could step out of the courtroom to have a smoke and gosh darn, miss the case. I declined and said that I could also report this conversation in the newspaper. That chastened the court officer. The names of the four boys were published after conviction.
The sense of shame back in the 60s in a small town reverberated thru local society. Everyone read my Court Report column twice a week. Such public shaming of petty law-breakers (teens doing stupid things) resulted in difficulties for employment, stigma burden, shunning in a small town where everyone knows everyone else. I don’t think public shaming for petty crimes is helpful for anything. Violent crimes are another matter because it seriously involves public safety.
Then the “very important people” of Cobourg didn’t do their job in bringing up their children or were the children just following the adults example. Silly teens do stupid things, to be liked or in this day in age to follow what they see on social media. Petty crimes like graffitti or stealing a street sign, could be overlooked but when someone is caught drinking and driving, high on drugs or selling drugs to those young teens, then they should have their names printed in bold letters for everyone to see just who these very stupid grownups are.
“Then the “very important people” of Cobourg didn’t do their job in bringing up their children or were the children just following the adults example.”
Of the four teens busted for underage drinking, two were the sons of two well-respected doctors; I surmised by their surnames and addresses. The other two I don’t recall. Your conjecture that the parents failed their children is groundless. One of those teens I am acquainted with, went on to a successful career and didn’t offend the law again. However, when Cobourg was a real small town, the notion of parental failure was the main feature of the gossip of many rumour mongers. This is where public shaming for petty violations of law is excessive and harmful.
Keep in mind, I do believe that there is such a thing as ‘parental failure’, but not in this instance, which is why shaming can be harmful.
Unfortunately, treating these offenders in a nice civilized way is not working . Perhaps a more old school way of handling them is required.
Yes. And we can start by making our public school system safe again. It’s a total right off in some public schools with the behavioural kids running the system with no consequences and no staff support.
With the realization that repeat offenders appear to be increasing in numbers as the consequences of committing crimes doesn’t seem to work,I would like to make a suggestion.;
The Canadian Armed Forces can’t get enough Canadians to enlist and now have recently allowed Landed Immigrants to join to fill the requirements.
I would suggest that they might consider that these repeat offenders be required to serve for a term of one-two years in the army. Possibly that would give them a sense of responsibility and direction & hopefully turn their behaviour around giving them a purpose to give back rather than just taking.
Gee Bill…….reminds me of that great film..The Dirty Dozen, starring Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson and others!
I do agree with you though!
My Dad, a WWII veteran had a small variety store in the country. Whenever a young man came into his store, whom he “knew” had been in some trouble (or whom Dad had caught being light-fingered) , Dad would give them a lecture and always suggested to him that he join the military! “Most” didn’t listen to him, but one young, troubled youth actually did as he suggested and came back to thank him years later. It was a story Dad loved to tell…
https://youtu.be/TBuIGBCF9jc
Check this motivational speech out to go along with that idea
Hooyah ! ⚓️🇺🇸👍
In the last ten months, I have noticed both females and males, mostly males, whose mode of movement is bicycles, cycling around the Town and wearing stuffed backpacks- about whom I am both wary and suspicious.
Instead of jail we will build most of them some tiny homes. Then we will build more because more will come. Then we will wonder what happened to Cobourg and Downtown business. I hope I’m wrong.
“Tiny Homes” …… I don’t think that’s going to happen !
I agree with Wally and Cobourg taxpayer. I know a couple from around here and the family they came from – both into petty crime, not instilled with any values or responsibilities. Getting up in the morning and going to work?? Better to scam and sell drugs is what they believe in. They are still welcome at home visiting frequently.
They do what they do as they are stupid and lazy with a poor judicial system that lets them go in one door and out the other to return to their chosen “professions”.
If you want to look for mental illness the homeless population is where to look. Since shutting down mental hospitals misplaced sympathies keep social services very busy for both groups and full jails we are told.
Re mental institutions, thank you Mike Harris.
This was done in every province, not just this one. Mike Harris just happened the be the premier during this time.
Jeffy
Right. So Harris did not have a mind of his own except for his ability to fill out a golf score card! I agree!
The intention in closing down general area mental institutions was to divert treatment to local communities, especially those the individuals of interest came from. That did not happen and people began sleeping on the streets in ernest.
Mike Harris, dispite all well informed advice to the contrary, forced amalgamation to save money. (See one result in the continuing dispute between rural and urban Port Hope.)
Harris made an enemy of the teachers’ unions (just like Ford is doing), and he appointed David Tsubouchi, a successful used-car salesman, to run the Ministry of Social Services.
DT created and put into force the “welfare diet” from which the Province has yet to recover and which has cost all levels of government a net loss of 100s of millions of dollars, and probably an increase in petty crime.
Ford follows in the footsteps of Harris when he cancelled the experiment in providing a basic family income half way through its’ four year trial period.
When Harris left provincial government he became a board member on a number of large companies.
Didnt McGuinty and Wynne have 15 yrs to right the failings of the Harris govt?
Yet here we are…in your Liberal delusional state, its Harris fault and his actions were such that succeeding Liberal govts were handcuffed and unable to undo the Harris mismangement.
Pete M
You’re right about McGinty and Wynne failing to correct Harris.
But the extent of the “welfare diet” took apart a large section of the provincial civil service, records were destroyed, many background articles were written in most newspapers, regardless of political orientation, to explain the extent of the damage to social services.
As with ‘buck-a-beer” Ford and his direct interference in the Toronto City election, the public are easily enamoured by simple solutions and were convinced Harris and Tsubouchie were right about those in need being spoiled.
As you can see in many of the posts to Johns’ various blogs, missunderstandings about those in need can take on a life-of-their-own.
In my opinion, with the current catch and release rules and liberal judges, the consequences for breaking the law are so minor that these people continue to do whatever they want. How frustrating for the police.
A penal colony on Baffin Island might work.
Who will finance such a colony? The colony will have a hefty heating bill, including for the homes that will house the families of penal colony staff who oversee the inmates. Solar panels are useless up there due to insufficient sunlight, especially during the long dark winters. Wind turbines are unreliable in such an environment. It will have to be heated with an SMR or fossil fuels. Transportation costs will be enormous for food, fuel and personnel. The salaries of the colony staff will be sky-high.
“you have to wonder if many “criminals” are also mentally sick.”
One cause unmentioned by Mr Draper is stupidity. People do stupid things. Back in the late 60s many Cobourg youths were being busted for pot possession. I was the court reporter. I commented at the time that these youths weren’t being busted for pot — they were busted for being stupid. When did stupid become a mental illness?
Many of the people, stupid or not, are repeat offenders. Society does not want people breaking the rules. But, we keep releasing them to the same situation and they keep breaking the rules. Perhaps the offenders are stupid for getting caught. Are we not also stupid if we expect their behaviour to change when their circumstances do not? Maybe the woman who turned herself in has reached a turning point in her life and will, with help if it is available, stop stealing. Jobs are available and there are places to sleep if you want to follow rules (Transition House and paid motel rooms). Perhaps some the jobs are crappy. I grew up on a beef farm and did some ‘crappy’ jobs. It was honest work. I still work, pay taxes and bills. Some of the work I do is enjoyable but not all of it. We need to learn to enjoy the good and deal with the bad (this is starting to sound like the ‘Serenity Prayer’ which is not intentional). Hopefully some of the stupid people (and not just those committing crimes) will become better citizens in 2023!
Crappy Jobs are those that instill basic work skills, while motivating one to better themselves.
Its not stupidity. It is a risk- reward base rational. A rational that most of us cant understand.
Stealing
Impaired driving
Mischief
Having drugs on them.
They have done these things many times before being caught.
Some learn from their mistakes and try to improve their techniques so they arent be caught again.
Others learn from the mistake and resolve not the break the law.
For those who keep offending, courts and jail are just a cost of doing business.