City should hold its horses on cuts: fans
'It's good public relations'
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/03/2012 (5274 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
THERE’S no better PR for police than the horse patrol, parents said Saturday at The Forks.
As kids surrounded the two horses and peppered their officers with questions, parents said they were dismayed by a decision to end the program because of budget cuts.
“It’s good public relations,” said Vince Adams, who checked out the horses with his daughter Matty. “You can see the crowd around them.”
For the money — about $20,000 annually — there are probably few better ways to improve the force’s image, Adams said.
The Winnipeg Police Service plans to shave $1 million from its operating costs this year by cancelling a fall recruit class, deferring car and motorcycle purchases, closing service centres and putting the horse patrol out to pasture. Council will make a final decision March 20.
If the horse patrol gets the axe, it’s not clear what will happen to the horses — black Percheron thoroughbreds named Amaro and Titus, half-brothers originally from Kentucky. They are boarded at a private stable near Birds Hill Park.
The horse patrol falls under the WPS community relations unit, but the officers also serve as a presence on the street, walking the beat downtown and at big events. Because they’re up high, the officers can keep an eye on big crowds that often gather at The Forks.
As parents nudged children away from Amaro’s hindquarters and Const. Sherry Blunden advised them to steer clear of Amaro’s lips, a gaggle of kids gently patted the horse’s belly and scratched his nose.
“You guys are going to put him to sleep,” joked Blunden as Amaro got dopey-eyed in the sunshine.
“Are you the police?” asked one kid.
“Yup. Girls can be police, too,” replied Blunden.
Former RCMP officer BJ Chippeway, who was snapping photos of the horses with his cellphone, said he’d like to see the city continue the horse patrol.
“It’s a good public image and people like to see them,” he said.
maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca