In response to safety concerns, St. John's mayor wants police to patrol downtown on foot
Some members of St. John's city council are calling for police foot patrols in the downtown area in response to safety concerns from residents and businesses.
St. John's Mayor Danny Breen says residents have identified public safety as a top issue in several recent surveys conducted by the city, including a recent feedback forum on the annual Water Street pedestrian mall.
"If people are not feeling safe in that area, I think that that needs to be addressed," he said in an interview with CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. "And one of the best ways to address this is to have a higher profile of policing in the area."
Beginning in 2020, the city of St. John's has closed parts of Water Street to vehicle traffic for the summer months, turning the area into a pedestrian-only space. Last fall, the city initiated a public feedback process to look at the future of the downtown pedestrian mall.
Staff presented an overview of that feedback at this week's committee of the whole meeting, including submissions from both businesses and members of the public. According to the report, safety and crime were top concerns for both residents and businesses.
Those concerns aren't new.
Over the past two years, business owners and musicians have spoken out about robberies and assaults in the downtown area. Earlier this year, two men were arrested after a brazen robbery at a Water Street business.
Two years ago, the city and the provincial government provided $180,000 to a group called the Downtown Safety Coalition, which included both levels of government as well as Downtown St. John's, the George Street Association, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and others.
Last year, coalition spokesperson Don-E Coady told CBC News the money was being used to fund private security in the downtown area, including on George Street.
More security coming
Over the past few summers, the city has paid for private security in the Water Street area during the running of the mall. This coming summer, according to Breen, the city plans to hire even more security for the area. But Breen says he would still rather see the RNC conduct foot patrols.
"I don't think private security down there is as powerful as having a police presence there," he said.
Breen says he's pleased to see more money in this year's provincial budget for policing, including the addition of 10 more frontline RNC officers located in the northeast Avalon Peninsula.
Jill Bruce, councillor for Ward 1 and lead for community services, agreed with the mayor's call for foot patrols in the downtown area.
"It would help with not only the actual issue of safety, but the perceived issue of safety," she said.
In previous years, some residents and community groups have pushed back against calls for additional policing in the downtown area, instead asking for that money to be spent on other initiatives, like poverty reduction.
According to Statistics Canada, the overall crime rate in the St. John's area — which includes the communities surrounding the capital city — increased by 7.5 per cent from 2022 to 2023. The severity of police-reported violent crime also steadily increased between 2014 to 2023.
However, those statistics, which cover an area where almost 224,000 people live, are not specific to the city's downtown area.
CBC News has asked the RNC for more specific statistics on police-reported crime in downtown St. John's.
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