Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Revealed: why B.C. booze cops got body armour

An odd request for proposals was published in late 2011 by the British Columbia Liquor Control and Licensing Branch. The government agency sought 40 sets of concealable soft body armour for its inspectors. The reason why was not disclosed. Until now.

I broke the story on March 2 for Business in Vancouver. In a nutshell, the boss of B.C. booze enforcement, Karen Ayers, and three of her staff members were given a rude welcome at a Richmond establishment in June 2006. Two of them were roughed up. Their injuries were censored. Ayers responded swiftly by ordering a review of safety and security. Body armour, to protect against slashing and stabbing, was ordered.

Unfortunately, Ayers either did not want to do an interview or was gagged by someone in government. I figured it would have added to the story to have her voice. Maybe the outcome would have been greater public respect and support for liquor inspectors.

The source documents are below.

Why B.C. booze inspectors got body armour

No comments:

Blog Archive