NEWS RELEASE
 
March 12, 1997                                                                  

For  Immediate  Release


NUMBER OF POLICE AT LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 1972 - NO WONDER CRIMINALS ARE
LAUGHING!

"Fewer police on the streets + double the criminal incidents per
officer = decreased public safety."

Yorkton - "Statistics Canada just issued a report which proves the
government is not meeting its primary purpose to provide for the peace
and safety of its citizens," said Garry Breitkreuz, MP for
Yorkton-Melville.  The report called "Police Personnel and Expenditures
in Canada - 1994" was prepared by the Canadian Centre for Justice
Statistics.  Here are two alarming quotes from the highlights on the
first page: (1) 1994 represented the largest annual decline in police
strength since the survey began in 1962, and (2) This resulted in the
fewest number of police officers per capita in Canada since 1972.

"Unfortunately like so many government reports, the most alarming
statistics are buried on a table on page 17.  The table provides clear
evidence that crime has increased more than 400% over the last thirty
years, but there has only been a 100% increase in the number of police
officers.  The table shows the number of Criminal Code incidents
(excluding traffic incidents like impaired driving) has more than
doubled from almost 20 incidents per police officer in 1962 to more
than 47 per officer in 1994," revealed Breitkreuz.

"Between 1962 and 1975, total police personnel in Canada increased 93%,
even though there was only a 25% increase in the population.  Up until
1975, the government was increasing the number of police officers to
try and keep up with the dramatic rise in Criminal Code incidents.
Just to maintain the 1962 ratio of 19.7 criminal incidents for every
police officer the government would have needed 133,646 police officers
in 1994 - instead Statistics Canada reported there were only 55,865
police officers in 1994.  No wonder Canadians feel less safe than they
did 30 years ago," said Breitkreuz.  "I don't think it's a coincidence
that the police have been losing ground to criminals since 1975 - about
the same time the government started its over-spending spree."

The cuts are hitting close to home.  Last August, the RCMP in
Saskatchewan announced the elimination of 22 provincial highway patrol
positions - leaving only 59 RCMP officers patrolling Saskatchewan
highways - down from 101 officers in 1985.  "About the same time the
Saskatchewan officers were being taken off the highways, I received an
internal telephone list which listed 107 bureaucratic positions in
Allan Rock's new Canadian Firearms Centre in Ottawa," reported
Breitkreuz.  "The Liberals had a choice between putting more police on
the streets and hiring more paper shufflers in Ottawa, and they chose
bureaucrats over crime fighters.  The government has failed to meet
their primary responsibility to its citizens.  These statistics clearly
show that both Liberal and Tory governments have put political
priorities ahead of public safety."

-30-
 
For more information please call:
 
Yorkton:  (306) 782-3309
 
Ottawa:   (613) 992-4394
 
ADDITIONAL TALKING POINTS
 
by Garry Breitkreuz, MP (Yorkton-Melville)

The government's misplaced priorities are not limited to taking police
off our streets and highways.  Columnist Andrew Coyne wrote in last
Saturday's Ottawa Citizen, "Yes, the Liberals have gone a long way
toward focusing federal spending where it is most needed.  But they're
still wasting billions - yes, billions - on handouts to business and
other dubious causes, billions that could have been spent on health
care and other social programs.  They had a choice:  medicare or pork.
They chose pork."  Breitkreuz concluded, "Public health and public
safety are the people's priorities.  Pork shouldn't even be on the
list."

In September 1995, Ontario Solicitor General Bob Runciman, said, "In
national terms $85 million [government estimate of cost to implement
Bill C-68] would put another 1,000 customs agents on the border; 500
million dollars [a more realistic estimate] would put an extra 5,900
police officers on the street.  The federal alternative is to use the
money to register every shotgun and bolt- action .22 in Canada.  No
great brilliance is required to figure out which would have a greater
impact on crime."

Police Personnel and Expenditures in Canada - 1994 (Juristat Catalogue
No. 85-002 - Vol. 16, No.1)