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Balancing rights critical as Cobourg Police charge protesters as they violate emergency orders

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The show:

For the past few weeks, Cobourg Police officers have charged protesters in front of Victoria Hall as they gather to defy provincial stay-at-home orders and other regulations to deliver their anti-pandemic message. For some in the community, there is a sigh of relief as concerns over the spread of COVID-19 and its variants have escalated in Northumberland. There are those who ask why this was not done sooner. Yet, there are others who raise concerns about the rights of people to express their views and gather peacefully. The laying of charges was such a major change in the approach by the police, a press conference was held last week to explain what was going on. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Police, Politics

High-tech, innovative video surveillance system coming to Cobourg Police via Venture 13

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Show:

The full interview with bonus material:

Imagine for a moment: every security camera in Cobourg, keeping an eye out for criminal activity. This is not just the cameras in ATMs at banks or systems in businesses along King Street. This is a store security camera at Wal-Mart, a camera scanning the Yacht Club storage, and, get this, every doorbell camera in the town. That’s right – the security cameras are located in people’s doorbells. It is known as a security mesh video system. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Police

Cobourg police board seeks public input on use of body cameras

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Charges of racism and police violence have renewed calls in Canada for frontline officers to wear body cameras. The debate is taking place across the country. From the RCMP to Toronto’s police, Indigenous groups and Black Lives Matters are calling for officers to wear video recording devices on their chests. The longtime debate over the need to wear body cameras is coming to Cobourg. As part of its technology and innovation strategy, the Police Services Board wants your opinion. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Take a Moment to Consider This, Community, Police, Policing, Politics

Cobourg police chief looks at defunding in the face of protests

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The death of George Floyd, the 46-year old man who died while in the custody in the Minneapolis police, became a lightning rod for intense debate. Even in Northumberland County, there were protests held to draw attention to the issues of unfair treatment of Indigenous and Black people, as well as other minorities. Out of these concerns, other discussions have emerged, reflected both globally and locally. Today’s show will try to explore two of those. One of the major issues coming out of the Floyd demonstrations centres around police defunding, which grew out of a larger protest against police brutality. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Police

Cobourg police chief calls for all hands on deck to fight drug epidemic

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So, for our first show of 2020, it seemed like a good idea to revisit one of the more significant stories in Northumberland: the ongoing battle with drugs across the county. Following a number of key arrests over the past few months, plus a shocking announcement regarding a more deadly form of drug suspected to be in our region, it is appropriate to talk once more about the state of the opioid situation and some of the developing issues that have come forward since July when we began examining what was going on. Certainly, a lot has happened and there is a more vocal public debate taking place since then. Back in July, then Deputy Chief Paul Vandegraff sat in this same chair across from me and we talked about opioids. It was the first of a series of interviews done by Consider This around the emerging situation. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Opioids, Police

Safe interview room helps victims of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, says police

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Unless you have been through it, understanding the terror and pain of domestic abuse, it is not easy to fully appreciate what someone is experiencing. As we learned last week when I interviewed Nancy Johnston, executive director of Cornerstone women’s shelter, there are some 2,600 women and children, who seek help from their services. In many cases, these women have faced violence in the home. The first responders to these cases of domestic violence are the police. During such cases, interviewing the victims of violence, rape or sexual assault can be very hard. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Police

Opioids in Northumberland County – a frontline perspective from Cobourg police

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If you live in Northumberland County, surely there has been a time when you were standing in the sunshine and looked north only to see the dark clouds of a storm. And, you may wonder, it is going to come here or is it just going to pass by. The recent headlines coming out of Peterborough related to the opioid crisis facing that community are shocking. In a single weekend in early June, 13 people overdosed and two died within a 72-hour period. Deputy Chief Timothy Farquharson said in an interview with CBC, he hasn’t seen anything like it in his 33 years in policing. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Opioids, Police, Policing

Fentanyl deaths quadruple in Cobourg in less than a year, says police chief

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The number of deaths due to fentanyl has quadrupled, while the number of calls to police has doubled in the past year, Chief Kai Liu said during an interview on Consider This Live. These are just calls where the police respond, he added. There are also those cases where people call an ambulance and those are not recorded in the police statistics, he explained. The number of calls up until July was 25 compared to 13 fentanyl calls for all of 2017.  The number of deaths in 2017 was one. By July, it was four. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Live, Police, Policing

Fighting human trafficking in Northumberland through community initiative, says police

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Human traffickers target children as young as 11- to 15-years old in Northumberland County for prostitution, according to Constable Detective Janice MacDonald, of the Cobourg Police Force. But, a multi-organizational task force is coming together with a $41,000 grant to help youth and parents by becoming better educated, she said. Acting Staff Sergeant Brent Allison said police are cracking down, as well. Listen to the shocking statistics and what is being done, as well as helpful tips to prevent children from being swept up in this growing problem as we discuss this issue on Consider This, part of the Drive Time on Northumberland 89.7 FM. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Live, Community, Police

Award-winning deputy chief talks about community building from a police perspective

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Cobourg Police Deputy Chief Paul Vandegraaf talks about receiving the Order of Merit of the Police Force from the Governor General of Canada recently. He talks about his grassroots approach to policing and discusses what can be done about policing in America as part of Consider This Live, part of the Drive Time on Northumberland 89.7 FM. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Live, Police