ntt@dciem.UUCP (Mark Brader) (03/08/84)
Following is the text of a letter I have just sent to Mayor Eggleton.
I am posting it to this newsgroup because I expect there will be a fair
number of nocturnal types reading it...knowing what computer people are like!
The same article I mention, in yesterday's Star, quoted most of the mayors
in Metro and the surrounding area as agreeing with Eggleton. I find their
notions outrageous (misguided, anyway), and I hope most of you will agree.
I suggest that if this letter makes you want to speak out, whether you agree
with me or disagree, you should write to your mayor, not to me.
March 8, 1984 -- at 1:30 am
Art Eggleton, Mayor
City Hall, Toronto M5H 2N2
Dear Sir:
I see in the Star that you believe 24-hour store opening to be a
hazard to the employees, and you "would like to see it stopped."
Please don't.
First, armed robbery always been a hazard of operating a store,
and it is not restricted to the night--it happens whenever the store is open.
Miss Turnbull was not working overnight when she was shot. Murders of milk
store clerks are unfortunately not so rare; the murder of Mr. Ali was con-
sidered noteworthy partly because it did happen overnight. I suggest you
consult the police regarding the number of robberies at different times of day.
Second, there are significant preventive measures that store owners
can take, and which *you* can enforce by legislation. You could choose from:
direct alarm buttons to the police, bulletproof glass booths, minimum numbers
of staff on duty, and, simply, clear lines of sight from the checkout desk.
But the best prevention is probably a sign reading "THIS STORE NEVER
HAS MORE THAN $20 IN THE REGISTER." You can't actually make all the stores
operate that way, but you can require all stores open at night to have the
equipment to make it possible, and then they surely will actually do so.
Once potential criminals see that sign, they will find no advantage
in robbing the store, and can go back to robbing people on the street.
That's not what you want either? Well, this leads to:
Third, any action that tends to keep people off the street at certain
times, such as closing stores, makes it less safe for those who do go out at
those times. Look at Yonge Street downtown, where people are not afraid to
be about at all hours--in large part because there *are* people about at all
hours. Then look at the cities where nobody goes out after dark because
everybody is justifiably afraid to, because nobody does. It's a self-
reinforcing effect, either way. Choose the right way.
Fourth, having cast doubt on whether your belief is justified, I
point out that there are many people who would resent the loss of overnight
shopping, such as me. Some of us have to keep late hours; others simply
prefer to. It's a free society. How do I know there are a lot of us?
Because a lot of stores find it profitable to be open overnight. Somebody
must be using them.
So please don't let the instinct that the night must be dangerous
lead you to degrade the quality and general safety of life in Toronto.
By overestimating the importance of one crime, you could make things
worse for everybody.
Yours truly,
Mark Brader
({utzoo|utcsrgv}!dciem!ntt)