GPOF- Gratuitous Post of Ford (again)

I’m really thinking that this blog needs to have a Rob Ford section, it just seems like every time he opens his mouth he needs to be smacked upside the head by reality.

Although he voted no to all social funding programs calling them “hug-a-thug” programs, Mr. Ford seems to think it’s perfectly ok to milk $5-10M out of the government because we need more cops! He was quoted in the Star article saying, “I think $5 million would hire a lot of officers and it would make this city a lot safer and we would get these guns and gangs off our streets, and that is exactly what I want.”

Why don’t we spend a little less money on mass hiring cops to Toronto and spend a little more money actually having them build relationships in the communities they police. I think a huge reason for a lack of communication between police and community is that police still are not trusted. Ford seems to think that you stick any person in a vest and multiply by ten and you’ll have a safer city. That didn’t work in Star Wars for the Clone army, it will not work here. People need to have relationships with the police in this city, why not put that money towards I don’t know, a social program?

I know that paragraph comes across as coming down on TPS, I’m really not. I think that they do a fantastic job of working with what they’ve got. Rob Ford wants a quick-fix and hiring $5M worth of police officers is his way of doing that.

I think it’s funny because after he was under fire for his “hug-a-thug” programs comment he was quoted saying, “How do you measure this stuff? You’re throwing a lot of money at it but at the end of the day you can’t measure exactly how many people are being helped by that,” Ford said. “I’m just saying I don’t want to throw good money after bad and just say, you know, we’re going to throw money at the problem.”

Followed immediately by, “Money talks and BS walks, I’m not going to sit there and listen to some BS and some reports and yadda yadda,” Ford said. “I’ve got a busy city to run, I’m going to go in there, I’m going to ask for $5 million to $10 million, and I want to be able to give that to Chief Blair and tell the chief go hire police officers and let’s get the city cleaned up.”

Your damn right BS walks Ford, I’m suspecting you’ll be walking right out of that meeting with the sound of laughter behind you.

All information and Ford quotes from the Toronto Sun article Toronto mayor to ask premier for up to $10M for more cops by Don Peat.