(Police Commission Chair Chris Waldshutz)
(Photo by Brian McLain)
The chair of the Police Commission Chris Waldshutz concedes, according to the Vital Signs report, the police department could be doing better in a couple of areas of public safety but Mayor Ivan Court says the fact more crimes are being reported is open to interpretation.
The Mayor argues if people didn’t have confidence in the Police Department to set things right, they wouldn’t even bother to report crime.
Court concedes more work has to be done, however, to reduce poverty and narrow the gap between rich and poor which is described in the report as “significant”. The poverty rate in Saint John remains above 20 per cent.