“Certainly, when it comes to the hate stuff, it is offensive, there’s no room for it in the city and it absolutely gets investigated.”
This from Deputy Police Chief Micheal Dazé in reference to graffiti left by an unknown subject(s) in a park in a neighbourhood off Airport Road.
The offending words and symbols have been covered by a coat of paint but how does the community move forward after this “vile” and “disgusting” vandalism?
Those are the words used by North Bay City Councillor Mike Anthony, who says he was “sad, disturbed, and angry” after he was contacted by a concerned citizen about “racist, homophobic graffiti,” including a swastika “on public property in Greenhill Park, this past weekend.
In the wake of the Greenhill Park incident, Dazé assured, “When we talk about any sort of hate crime, which includes graffiti, it is important to the police.”
Asked what the next step is from a law enforcement perspective, Dazé replied, “The criminal investigation branch does take over and look at those occurrences.”
A variety of investigative techniques will be employed. Securing video security camera footage in the area of the incident will be part of the canvassing aspect of the investigation and will also include “intelligence-led policing, according to the Deputy Chief.
“The graffiti is difficult.” said Dazé “We want to get that removed and work with the City to try and get that stuff down as quick as possible.”
Those offensive images have since been covered up and the investigation continues.
Anthony, in a post to his Councillor Facebook page wrote, “Thanks to our fast-acting staff in the parks department at The City of North Bay. Less than 24 hours ago we learned that vile, hateful, racial homophobic images and words had been spray-painted at Greenhill playground…they had done a cover-up of the offending words and images. The staff will return later to do a more complete paint job of the building. Thanks also to the citizen who made me aware of the situation!”
