As recent assaults fuel fears, Brandon police working on downtown safety strategy
Downtown businesses, social agencies, residents share safety concerns and ideas in consultation sessions
Working in downtown Brandon feels safe for the most part, but there can still be moments that feel scary, says librarian Erika Martin.
She's been followed her to her car when she was leaving work. There were also random attacks near the library in January and March, she said.
"I certainly think it would deter anyone that might have been getting brave enough to come downtown again," said Martin, director of library services for the Western Manitoba Regional Library.
"Anytime something like that happens, it doesn't help."
She shared her stories at recent downtown safety strategy meetings with the Brandon Police Service, which held four consultation sessions with downtown businesses, social agencies and residents.
The feedback is intended to help create a police safety strategy for the downtown core in the city of 54,000.
As violent incidents rise and the opioid crisis deepens, police are developing a strategy to manage growing call volumes and public safety concerns.
Police Chief Tyler Bates says currently, around 36 per cent of the 38,000 yearly service calls in the city come from the downtown area, up from an average of 30 to 33 per cent.
Now, business owners are calling for more visible police presence and investments in beautification to restore a sense of safety and vibrancy in the city's core, and counter disorder and a drop in foot traffic.
"Customers don't feel safe coming down here," which hurts the roughly 400 businesses in the area, said Emmy Sanderson, the executive director of the Brandon Downtown Business Improvement Zone.
Recent assaults, including one near a recently closed day-time drop-in that left a woman dead, have put the downtown in a bad light, she said.
Boots on the ground and beautification
Attendees at the recent safety meeting created a list of actions to help improve the sense of safety, she said, including adding cameras, lights and security, as well as beautification efforts like cleaning sidewalks and removing graffiti. There's also a push to see more police patrols downtown.
"If people start to feel safe, then those businesses are going to get more business," Sanderson said. "As they get more customers, we will get more traffic. And as we get more traffic, people feel safer."
Brandon General Museum and Archives administrator Keith Waterfield also says promoting more foot traffic downtown is essential.
People who visit the museum come because they're interested in Brandon history, but tours often include guests asking about downtown safety, he said.
The museum is next to the former drop-in centre where the recent fatal assault happened.
Those types of violent incidents discourage people from visiting the downtown, which only worsens the problem, he said.
"Foot traffic, you know, the more people that are down here, the more people are going to feel safe. That's just the bottom line," Waterfield said.
Martin said her library has added a security guard and better lighting outside to help give a sense of safety. The library is also talking with the city about adding a second entrance directly from the street.
The chance to give feedback at the safety strategy meetings gives her hope change is coming to downtown, she said.
"Ultimately, it takes time," Martin said. "We maybe don't have the ability to change rules and greater policies, but we can make small changes. That can slowly build towards something bigger."
Next steps
Chief Bates says the police service already has plans in place to increase its downtown presence by adding seven to eight cadets to the core.
The service is also working on creating a safewalk program that would let people use an app to ask for an escort if they feel unsafe.
While he's not sure if the formal downtown safety strategy will be publicly shared, certain initiatives will be communicated to the community, he said.
Police will know the plan is working if they start to see a reduction in violent crimes, but they also want to see a drop in the volume of other types of calls from the core, Bates said.
"We're not going to arrest our way out of this problem," he said.
"People are at the table working together to make Brandon, you know, a safe city that is economically ... prosperous, while at the same time caring for citizens that are undergoing some pronounced challenges that are clearly visible."
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