PAGE 12
News Advertiser
NOVEMBER 2, 2016
www.
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your statement and evidence we gather, and
serve the offender the ticket.
The offender then says ‘no, I’m not paying
this, I can throw poop wherever I want.’, and
goes to the courthouse and pleads not guilty.
A trial date is set, and the police officer
who laid the charge is going to come to you
with a subpoena (which is a document com-
pelling you to court) for the court date.
Now – you are required for court – this is
where you get to tell your side of the story,
as the accused (the neighbour who has been
charged) gets to tell his story too.
That is how the process works. If you don’t
go to court, then the original charge will be
withdrawn as you are needed to provide
your evidence! And there is no guarantee
that the offender will be convicted – that is
up to the judge!
I know that a lot of the calls for service we
receive are by folks who are angry, upset or
frustrated by something that is happening
or has happened to them, and will often
grab the phone and call the police for
immediate results. Despite what you may
want at that point in time, we, the police,
won’t always be able to provide you with the
outcome you want.
We won’t throw your drunken teenager in
jail for the night to ‘teach them a lesson’, we
won’t tell your neighbour to stop spraying
weed killer on his lawn, or where to park on
the street (‘she always parks her car in front
of my house!’
When frustrated with a situation, take a
deep breath. Decide if it’s a worthwhile call
to the police or not.
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