After the RCMP’s weekend blitz that led to 98 charges and 32 executed warrants, it took minutes for social media to fill with complaints that it was all about window tint, which is illegal due to visibility and safety concerns.
The usual claim followed, “Police were targeting harmless drivers while real criminals got a free pass.”
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That idea is both demeaning and false.
Officials confirmed that only eight of the tickets were related to tint and seatbelts. The other 90 were for more serious infractions. I watched two people get pulled over for running red lights that weekend.
This goes back to that point I mentioned in a previous column about luck. The only difference between a horrible collision and getting pulled over was luck.
Now, back to what the RCMP and partners actually did those days. A total of 32 outstanding warrants were executed on 18 people. Five of them were remanded into custody. Others were released with conditions or through judicial interim release. These were not minor charges. These were people wanted for serious offences.
This was not a roadside cash grab. It was targeted, deliberate and effective policing.
You do not plan a multi-agency blitz like this overnight. It takes staff, overtime, co-ordination and time away from families. They didn’t do that just to hand out tint tickets. They did it to get dangerous people off the streets, which they did.
Since people keep bringing up the tint tickets, let’s talk about them. Alberta and Saskatchewan laws are nearly identical, no aftermarket tint on front windows (minus the very top in Sask.). Like it or not, that is the law. Enforcing it is not petty. It’s the job.
What is petty is verbally attacking officers online for doing their job then blaming them when crime happens in the community. We can’t have it both ways.
Want fewer repeat offenders? The problem is not the police. The problem is the system that keeps letting them out.
Local RCMP officers can arrest someone with 20 warrants and a violent history, but they can’t control what happens next.
If that person is released within hours, the fault lies with a justice system that focuses more on release than on deterrence. If we are going to point fingers, we should at least aim them in the right direction.
In the meantime, the officers doing this work deserve credit. They’re not perfect, but they’re present. They respond when we call, they enforce the laws on the books and they put themselves at risk to make our communities safer.
So, no, it was not just tint. It was real work, real results and it deserves real respect.
Well said Dan! Thank you for this!!!
Very well said. I am sick of all the complaints about getting a tint ticket. Actions have consequences, you chose to add tiny to your front window even though it is against the law, the consequence of that is a ticket. With all the complaining people do about the RCMP here, they better not be the ones calling in if they need help. Even if the RCMP were blasted online, they will still put their lives on the line for you every day. Shut up, stop whining, and deal with the consequences of your actions. My 6-year-old understands this better than many of the adults in this city.