Dionne Molloy
Articles by Dionne Molloy
End the War on Drug Dealers
On July 16, 2015, the Victoria Police Department issued warrants for 16 suspected drug dealers accused of preying on people who use shelters in Victoria. The result of a 6-week undercover sting in Our Place and Rock Bay Landing shelters saw a combined total of nineteen counts of trafficking issued to these suspects who were also identified by police as gang affiliated. (…)
Community Policing – Better Relationships or Better Surveillance?
In an op-ed written for the Times Colonist in April, Police Chief Frank Elsner laid out his vision for a renewed community policing strategy for Victoria. He wrote, “The social problems we see on our streets cannot be solved with the rule of law alone,” but need to be “balanced” in a “holistic wheel” that he calls “community.” To some people on the street who have only experienced policing as violence, this might sound hopeful. But is it an alternative to ‘law and order’ policing, or a more sophisticated version of the same old beat cop? (…)