Latest news with #policepresence
CTV News
12 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
Don't be alarmed: OPP training exercise planned for high school in Exeter
South Huron District High School in Exeter, Ont. as seen in September 2019. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) Don't be alarmed if you see an increased police presence in Exeter on Friday. Members of Huron County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), West Region OPP Tactics and Rescue Unit (TRU), and West Region OPP Emergency Response Team (ERT), are partnering with the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) for emergency response training at the South Huron District High School in Exeter. Emergency responders will be doing training exercises for scenarios involving high-risk situations including active attackers. The training is is expected to run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. According to police, members of the public will notice several emergency response vehicles and personnel in and around the school property. The school, located at 92 Gidley St. will be closed to students for a P.A. Day.
RNZ News
7 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Gang gathering prompts increased police for Hawke's Bay
(File photo) Photo: A large gang gathering in Hawke's Bay will be met with an increased police presence during the long weekend, police say. Hawke's Bay Area Commander Lincoln Sycamore said officers would be very visible in central Hawke's Bay, where the gathering is scheduled to take place. "While the gathering will take place over the weekend at a marae that is away from main roads, Police do expect some travel around Central Hawke's Bay by the gang members, particularly on the morning of Sunday 1 June," Sycamore said. Sycamore said Police had made plans to minimise any disruption to residents and holidaymakers visiting the area for King's Birthday weekend. "We have spoken to those organising the gathering and encourage all attendees to respect our local communities and not engage in any unsafe driving behaviour or unlawful activity," he said. "If anyone does witness unsafe driving behaviour or unlawful activity, please report it immediately to 111." Under laws introduced last year it is illegal for anyone to wear gang insignia in public, such as gang patches on clothing or vehicles. Earlier this month, police said a number of arrests and vehicle impoundings followed gang insignia being displayed at a tangi in Hastings. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- CTV News
Vancouver's Chinatown pushes for permanent solution after successful crime task force
Flooding the streets of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside with cops has been successful in driving down property crime, say police and business leaders. Flooding the streets of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside with cops has been successful in driving down property crime, say police and business leaders. Vancouver's new police task force designed to crack down on crime in the Downtown Eastside has been a welcome addition for many Chinatown businesses. On Monday, several family-owned stores explained to CTV News that they have witnessed officers on foot, in cruisers and on bikes patrolling the area for several months, and they say their presence has brought a sense of comfort to the community. The Vancouver Police Department's Task Force Barrage released data last week on how the initiative has fared since it began in February. According to the data, Chinatown saw a 26 per cent drop in violent crime year-over-year, alongside a 57 per cent decline in robberies. The most notable difference was in commercial break-and-enters, with the number plummeting 86 per cent. Siblings Ross Lam and Tracy To have been working at Forum Appliances in the heart of Chinatown since 1988, and have seen waves of changes over that time. The two say the area has always faced its challenges but in recent years, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, the neighbourhood fell on hard times and crime in the area grew. 'We've seen a stronger presence of the police force – patrols that we haven't had for many years,' said Lam. To continued by saying they are appreciative of the changes, especially with the reaction time being far less and officers being able to intervene before incidents escalate. Many businesses echoed her sentiment, but say heavy policing is a temporary solution to a problem that needs a permanent fix for the sake of the businesses and community. 'There has to be more done from other levels of government,' said To. 'I feel the police can only do so much. They're not the ones to solve the mental health crisis.' To said she hopes that elected officials will place more emphasis on the Downtown Eastside, and will try to get to the root of the problem. One block over, David Prowse, the director of programming of the Rickshaw Theatre on East Hastings, echoed the calls for action. The longtime Vancouverite says he has never felt unsafe in the neighbourhood, but believes the greater attention on finding solutions to those in need of help is crucial. 'I love this neighbourhood, and I want to see it succeed,' said Prowse. 'The big problem is the housing crisis, overdose crisis, mental health crises that are happening at a regional and maybe even a national level and are hyper focused in this area.' Prowse is calling for government action to help those suffering in the area, as it affects everyone, he said.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Naperville police say there will be ‘zero tolerance' for lawbreaking after large teen groups gather downtown
There will be a heavy police presence in downtown Naperville throughout the summer after two large group gatherings over the weekend yielded numerous citations and two arrests, authorities say. 'We'll be there to protect everybody's right to assemble and have a great night or day or whatever it is — lawfully,' Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said. 'It's when people start to become unlawful that we aren't going to have a tolerance for that.' Friday night, Naperville officers responded to a gathering of as many as 200 teens and young adults in areas of the city's downtown, police said in a Facebook post. Police were aware of the gathering ahead of time after seeing it advertised on social media and nearly 20 officers were assigned ahead of time to patrol the area, Arres said. While it was advertised to start at 4 p.m., activity didn't pick up until after 8 or 8:30 p.m. and everything started to 'bubble up' after 9 p.m., he said. When disruptive behavior started, police began issuing citations, Arres said. Officers observed people flashing hand signals at police, some of which appeared to be gang signs, and groups blocked sidewalks and interrupted traffic flow, he said. In all, about 20 citations were issues, according to Arres. A 15-year-old girl from Aurora was charged with three felony counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, littering and obstruction, police said. The situation started with an alleged incident of littering but devolved into her allegedly putting her hands on an officer, Arres said. The second gathering took place Saturday night. Arres described it as a 'street takeover,' with more than 100 people congregating in a parking lot on the northeast side of the city. There were 'numerous, numerous vehicles' doing burnouts and doughnuts around the lot, he said, and people setting off fireworks. Police were not aware of Saturday's gathering ahead of time but coordinated a 'large police response to that area' after being notified just after midnight, Arres said. Officers issued nearly 20 traffic tickets for multiple city ordinance violations, he said. Raymond Howard Zegers, 20, of McHenry, was arrested Sunday after an investigation allegedly connected him to several crimes committed during the meet-up, police said. Zegers was charged with reckless driving, reckless conduct, criminal damage to property and mob action. No weapons were observed at either gathering, according to the police chief. Gatherings like those from over the weekend aren't new. Several police officers were dispatched to downtown Naperville in August 2023 to break up a large gathering of about 150 people. The gatherings also are not unique to Naperville. So-called 'teen takeovers' have become commonplace in Chicago's downtown in neighborhoods over the past few years. Arres emphasized that Naperville police will have 'zero tolerance for unlawfulness,' he said. 'We want people of all ages to have a great time and enjoy all the amenities that our downtown has to offer,' he said. 'But if you're going to come down and create issues and problems, you will be held accountable. That word will get out that Naperville is enforcing all the laws as we are tasked to do.' The Chicago Tribune's Rebecca Johnson contributed. tkenny@
CBC
07-05-2025
- CBC
Community groups accuse VPD officers of loitering outside supervised drug consumption sites
A collection of groups that work in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside say there's been an increase in police officer presence outside Insite and other supervised drug consumption sites in the neighbourhood, resulting in people being deterred from accessing harm-reduction services. The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) has a policing strategy underway meant to crack down on organized and violent crime in the neighbourhood — which includes more officers. But a spokesperson said it's a "false narrative" that officers are loitering outside the harm-reduction sites. The claim comes from Police Oversight With Evidence and Research (POWER), a research project founded last year by Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) and Western Aboriginal Harm Reduction Society (WAHRS). Pivot Legal Society is also calling on the VPD to avoid having a presence outside the sites. "Being present outside, without any sort of call is, we would say, doing more harm than good," said Caitlin Shane, a staff lawyer with Pivot. According to Shane, in the last few months, POWER has received an increase in complaints from staff at Insite and other supervised consumption sites about police either blocking entrances, loitering or parking VPD cars outside. "What we're hearing, particularly from service providers, as well as patrons, is that this police presence is deterring people from accessing the life-saving services inside," she said. The anecdotal accounts of the effects of police presence at the sites are supported by peer-reviewed research into the issue, published in 2019 in the International Journal of Drug Policy. The groups included two specific examples in their media release. Both are reports from March of a VPD cruiser being parked outside Insite, in the 100-block of East Hastings Street for an extended period. Two of the provided images appear to show unoccupied vehicles, while a third appears to show one of the same vehicles with headlight on. "The notion that a parked and unoccupied police car would deter somebody is, quite frankly, silly," said VPD's Sgt. Steve Addison on Tuesday. "The narrative these organizations are spinning to the media is detached from reality on the streets." Shane maintains that whether or not a police vehicle is occupied, it can have an impact on the number of people using the facility — and she claims it's part of a broader pattern in recent months. Informal agreement? According to Shane, there's an agreement in place between staff at Insite and the VPD to not block the entrance or otherwise deter access. She's asking that the agreement be honoured and formalized. Addison, speaking on behalf of the police department, said he's not aware of any such agreement. Shane said there's internal correspondence from VPD and Pivot in 2022 confirming the existence of the informal policy for officers not to block access to supervised consumption sites, but the fact that Addison isn't aware of it reinforces the need to formalize it. According to Addison, officers are supportive of the harm-reduction facilities and "have a tremendous amount of compassion" for the people struggling with drug addiction in the community. Last year, 2,253 people were killed by unregulated drugs in British Columbia, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. "We encourage people to use supervised consumption sites, harm-reduction sites, as opposed to using on the street, but it hasn't been an enforcement priority for many, many years for us to arrest, jail, prosecute people in the Downtown Eastside who are living with substance use issues," said Addison. Task Force Barrage Addison said that since mid-February, the policing strategy in the Downtown Eastside, dubbed Task Force Barrage, has included an increase in officers in the neighbourhood, Chinatown and Gastown — and perhaps that could explain the increase around supervised consumption sites. "Just by virtue of the fact we've got more officers out there, you're going to see more there," he said.
