NEWS RELEASE

HRM, Police Cannot Endorse Guardian Angels

(Thursday, December 27/07) -- However good their intentions may be, Halifax Regional Municipality cannot endorse the Guardian Angels’ intention to establish a chapter in this community.

In a joint statement released today, Mayor Peter Kelly and Police Chief Frank Beazley said regardless of what training they receive, under no circumstances could HRM as a local government and its police agency condone or encourage an organization that is comprised of unequipped regular citizens, that encourages its members to become involved in physical confrontation and put themselves in harms way.

“We have no quarrel with the mission of the Guardian Angels nor the group themselves. They are promoting safety in the communities where they have chapters,” said Mayor Kelly. “However, HRM’s trained and equipped police officers are the ones whose duty it is to put themselves in harms way and intervene in potentially dangerous situations. Under no circumstances can we condone or encourage regular citizens doing this.”

Chief Beazley said “Because of the potential situations members of the group would face, there is risk of injury (or worse) to the group's members. Also, there is potential risk to other members of the public who may be harmed by group member’s actions. This is another reason why police cannot sanction the group. We cannot risk being held accountable for the actions of members of the group.”

The Nova Scotia Police Act governs the actions of police agencies and behaviour of police officers in the province. If police agencies make mistakes or officers act inappropriately, they are held accountable and face discipline under the Act. Any citizen has the right to file a complaint and have that complaint thoroughly investigated. Guardian Angels are regular citizens, who encourage members to intervene in confrontation when they see it-- but they are not governed by the Police Act. For this reason, HRM believes it would be inappropriate for police to be aligned, or even perceived as to be aligned, with the group.

Mayor Kelly, who has reviewed the group’s training manual and other literature, said “It would be inappropriate for us to encourage the group to establish a chapter in HRM, or in any way allow the group to align themselves with Halifax Regional Police. Should a chapter be set up here, its members will be treated the same as any other citizens, and the group the same as any other group.”

Chief Beazley said “ If there are citizens out there who wish to give back to their community, HRP has existing community crime prevention volunteer groups, such as Citizens on Patrol. These programs encourage citizens to act as eyes and ears for police to make their communities a safer place to live, and do not put participants’ personal safety at risk.”

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Mayor Peter Kelly
490-4010