HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2000-05-10, Page 1010 -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, May 10, 2000
An inside look at...
Crimestoppers receives i5o-16o calls a year
...Crimestoppers
By Scott HNgendorff
Expositor Editor
While helping police catch
criminals and keep
neighbourhoods safe,
Crimestoppers of Huron
County is still trying to
overcome. one main hurdle --
the feeling that someone is
snitching on a neighbour
when they report a crime.
"A common misconception
about Crime Stoppers is
you're snitching on your
friends or your neighbours or
the people that live in your
community," said coordinator
Detective Constable Kevin
Hummel,who has been with
the OPP for 12 years 'now
and running the program for
close to a year.
But he said the good of the
program comes through and
outweighs that when it leads
to a lifestyle change where
it's okay to make the call.
"There's a peace of mind
"that people are looking out
for one another," he said.
Hurdn County Crime
Stoppers, operated by a
civilian board of directors,
receives about 150 to 160
calls a year. -
"1'm confident they will
increase with the promotion
of the program," Hummel
said.
All calls arc made to the
same telephone numher.hut it
routes the call to the specific
county program in which the
call originates.
Hummel assures people the
Detective Constable Kevin Hummel has been coordinating the
Huron County Crimestoppers program for close to a year.
profit basis, does not use call
display hut instead, assigns a
caller with an identification
number to he used if they
need to call back. Callers do
not have to leave contact
phone numbers. If the
information they provide
leads to an arrest and
conviction in a criminal
matter, it could mean a cash
reward for that caller.
The program has been
Successful in a number of
Huron County cases but,
because of the need to protect
anonymity. Hummel can't
release specific instances. In
many situations, the person
know only a handful of
people who could have
provided police with the
information regarding that
case.
The Supreme Court of
Canada also recognizes
Crime Stoppers and will not
compel anyone to testify in a
trial that has provided
information anonymously
through the program.
"We go 10 great lengths to
ensure anonymity," said
Hummel
Despite losing possible
testimony in a case, he said
the information received in
the tips can alert police to a
be unaware of or often can be
the hig break a police officer
is looking for in the case.
"It could be that last piece
of the puzzle we're looking
for to be., able to get a
warrant. When people are
calling in, no matter how
trivial it seems, it could he
the last piece of the puzzle."
he said.
While the program
generally deals with criminal
cases, Hummel said people
can call for everything from
reporting a dangerous driver
violating the
Highway
Traffic Act
to the sale of
tobacco to a
mincieliscler
the tobacdb
laws.
A s
coordinator
of the
program,
Hummel will
also refer
other crimes
n o t
investigated
by the OPP,
such as
poaching or
fishing out
of season, to
the Ministry
Crime Stoppers in improving
people's lives where they
don't have to live in fear of
having their car stolen or
their home broken into," said
Hummel.
He would like to take the
program inside schools either
to increase awareness of how
it works or, if the schools
like, to set up a Crime
Stoppers program within the
school to allow students
easier access to reporting
crimes anonymously.
In that situation, calls could
go through a
board or
committee
within the
school such as
the student
council with a
teacher liaising
between the
school and
Hummel.
Of the
whole program
Hummel said,
"it's as hig as
you want it with
as much effort
as you can
afford."
He agrees
with the
philosophy of
the program
Quoted
'When people
are calling in,
no matter how
trivial it seems,
it could be the
last piece of the
puzzle ,'--
Oetective Constable
Kevin Hummel, of the
Huron County
Crimestoppers
program.
of Natural Resources:
"If 1 had a poaching call
where someone was hunting
illegally, I may call up a
Ministry of Natural
Resources conservation
officer." he said.
Other calls could he
referred to Ministry of
Environment investigators.
120 per cent.
"I've seen the positive
sides. For the life of mc, 1
can't see anything" negative
about Crime Stoppers." h e
said.
'lo report a crime. the
Crime Stoppers telephone
number is 1-8(0-222-8477 or
1 -800 -222 -TIPS.
Doppler radar near Exeter doubles range
for forecasterswhen predicting severe weather
By NeNieEvans
Lakeshore Advance Editor
Environment Canada
officials recently unveiled a
new $1.8 million Doppler
radar to the public in Exeter.
The radar has been operating
since February and already
it's changing the facc of
southern Ontario's weather.
Weather scientists and
forecasters couldn't- suppress
their excitement about the
new Doppler.
Research scientist Dr. Paul
Joc saiol at a recent press
conference the equipment is
twice as powerful as the old
radar, scanning a radius of
256 kilometres, and it's
already picked up a March
breeze from Lake Huron.
"We saw this in March.
Before we never saw this
until lune," Dr. Joc said.
"This is exciting."
As Canadians know,
weather is extremely
important to our daily lives.
Severe weather meteorologist
Phil Chadwick showed video
of an F-2 tornado that hit
Arthur on April 20, 1996, as
an example of the •type of
weather that can be detected
much earlier with Doppler
radar.
"No one has died in a
tornado since 1987. Partly
because of good luck and
partly our weather system,"
said Chadwick.
Between 150 and 200
weather events occur in
southern Ontario every
summer, Chadwick
explained, and some of them
become tornadoes. Severe
weather forms when the
breeze off Lake Erie
converges with the breeze off
Lake Huron. Tornadoes may
form along two lines called
the Lake Breeze Tornado
Alley (that extends through
Arthur and Barrie) and the
Point Clarke Tornado Alley.
On April 20, 1996, the old
radar encountered problems
just as a severe storm was
detected in southern Ontario.
Chadwick said the skies
showed super cells associated
with severe weather at 6 p.m.
A funnel came out of the
cloud at Listowel but never
touched the ground. Then just
15 minutes later, an F-2
tornado with wind speeds of
up to 200 kilometres caused
major damage in Arthur.
"if we had Doppler we
could have given more lead
time," he said.,"We get an F-
2 every year in southwestern
Ontario. Our aim is the safety
and security of the people."
Goderich was hit with a
severe storm on July 15,
1995, that Chadwick says
was a down -burst, not a
tornado. In simple terms, he
explained a down -burst
occurs when cold air
suddenly sinks from a cloud.
"It causes as much damage
as an F-2 tornado," he said,
adding the Doppler radar will
now see it.
During a tour of the
Doppler radar station about
six kilometres east of Exeter,
Environment Canada's air
monitoring manager Ron
Huibers said the new radar
dish is eight feet larger than
the old one and is quickly
becoming known as the
"Doppler doubler" because of
its extended range. The radar
can detect storms as far as
Michigan. (The old radar will
be dismantled in the next two
weeks, refurbished and
moved to Quebec for use at a
new Doppler radar site.)
"We've gone into the digital
world. The difference is a
scratchy old record to a new
CD," explained Dr. Joc.
The Southwestern Ontario
Doppler Radar near Exeter is
the fifth installation in a
$34.9 million national
program that began in Tate
1998. When the program is
finished in 2003, there will
be 26 Doppler radars across
Canada.
The new network will
protect 90 per cent of
Canada's inhabitants by
giving advanced warning of
tornadoes, blizzards, hail and
heavy rain.
"We commend you for a job
done and a job done well,"
said Paul Robertson of
Windsor. .
Nicknamed "the weather
guy" because of his lifetime
interest in weather, Robertson
spoke to the media and public
about his involvement in the
national project. His group of
amateur radio operators were
instrumental in convincing
Environment Canada to
bump the Ontario radar
project ahead by one year.
The convincing factor
occurred in the summer of
'97, said Robertson, when
inaccurate warnings
concerned him greatly. Being
a self -described "weather
nut", he knew something was
wrong and took .the issue that
Facts
Definition of radar:
The shortform of RAdio
Detection And Rangino
technology. Radar was
developed just prior to
the Second World War
as a method to detect
and locate hostile
aircraft at long distances.
At first, storms were a
nuisance that obscured
valuable data. However,
as users became familiar
with the technology, the
storms became the
subject of radar
investigations.
Source: Environment
Canada
The Doppler effect was
observed for the first
time in the mid -19th
century. Austrian
physicist J. C. Doppler
hypothesized that the
frequency of acoustic
(sound) waves from a
moving source would
increase as they
approached an observer,
and decrease as they
moved away.
Source: Environment
Canada
***
A weather watch -
conditions are favorable
for a severe storm, even
though one has not yet
developed.
A weather advisory -
actual or expected
weather conditions may
cause concern or general
inconvenience, but do
not pose a serious
enough threat to warrant
a weather warning.
A weather warning -
severe weather is
happening or hazardous
weather is highly
probable.
Source: Emergency
Preparedness Canada
brochure
the public deserves more
warning to Environment
Canada. Words led to action
and on March 31, 1998, the
group recommended 18
points including upgrading
the Exeter radar to Doppler
status.
"What's the lesson in this?
Environment Canada was
open and honest, not
defensive. They acted upon
our suggestions. I don't think'
any other government agency
works as closely with the
public. They recognize that
the public is Environment„
Canada's eyes," he said.
Huron -Bruce MP Paul
Steckle attended to
congratulate Environment
Canada on its upgrading
program. He called the new
Doppler radar a "powerful
tool" to help meteorologists
forecast severe weather and
increase the length of
warnings to the public.
Environment . Canada is
upgrading its website to
include hourly weather
images. The upgrade is slated
for completion by May 8.
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