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This evening, I observed a commendable thing: Fairview residents patrolling back alleys as Kitsilano Fairview Community Policing volunteers. Three residents, to be precise. They were wearing outfits appearing to be made up of hand-me-down articles reminiscent of police, or traffic flagging gear. Better still, the three of them were as noisy as a murder of crows. They were mostly interested in each other, but they did notice me, naturally -- with my bike and trailer, I stick out in a lane, but so did they, and I made a bee-line for them.

They explained what they were, and then told me a shameless fib, to the effect that they patrolled the alleys all the time -- That may be what they're telling the Vancouver Police -- they were, as they told me, "the eyes and ears of the police" -- but I can not remember the last time I saw Community Police volunteers in the back alleys of Fairview. They wouldn't consent to be photographed -- privacy issues -- but they gave me a card; a model of late 1990s connectivity; street address, phone, fax, and an email (plus a mailing address), but no Web site. When I left them, they were busy analysing the different bits of gear each of them had.

It's good when residents take a pro-active interest in looking after their neighbourhood, even if, like the three I saw this evening, they treat it as a game. On top of the increased police patrols of the lanes, seeing it tells me Fairview residents may be feeling there's a bit too much disorder in their back alleys.