The Moose Jaw Police Service plans to carry on with its foot and bike patrols this winter to better protect downtown businesses and residents from harassment by street people.
During the Board of Police Commissioners’ December meeting, Commissioner Doug Blanc — also a city councillor — said council heard from the Good Neighbours Group about its concerns with safety throughout the downtown and near the library.
The group called on the city and other agencies to do something to protect business owners and those in the area.
Blanc emphasized to them during the council meeting that the police service planned to continue with its patrols to alleviate those concerns. He also emphasized that people should call the police — many incidents go unreported — since there is a mechanism that prevents people who harass a business from re-entering that place.
He then asked police leadership to confirm that the patrols were still proceeding.
“We are still going to continue with the foot patrols, weather permitting,” said Deputy Chief Rick Johns, noting the agency also planned to look at future opportunities to help business owners handle people who enter their establishment.
“We are in the infancy stages of exploring a possible new model of how police can better assist those downtown businesses. We should be rolling out something in the new year,” he continued.
Some members of the police leadership team attended a community event at the Events Centre in late December that discussed ways to address homelessness, safety and food security, Johns said. He thought that the meeting was a good starting point for future ideas; he joined a sub-committee and is looking forward to seeing where that leads.
As for preventing offenders from bothering businesses, Johns said the police have authority under The Trespass Act to lay charges for mischief or similar offences, which the courts usually enforce with restrictions around staying away from shops.
Commissioner Clive Tolley said the Good Neighbours Group had not received an invite to that community event, so he hoped to bring together both organizations with the police for further conversations. He noted that group members have been walking downtown and checking in with business owners to support them and prevent harassment.
“We talked at council … about the need to have a busy downtown business core that’s busy with shopping and people. That will, in itself, deter (unwanted) people from being in the area,” he added.
Board chairwoman Mary Lee Booth agreed, saying there are similar issues in bigger downtowns across Canada. Meanwhile, she thought the community event meeting was good since it emphasized the need for everyone to be involved in the solution.
Police Chief Rick Bourassa said residents and business owners should contact police if they have concerns because, even though officers offer a proactive presence, they still need to be told what’s happening so they can act.
The next police board meeting is Thursday, Jan. 11.
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