A pilot project by Barrie police aimed at addressing crime and increasing the feeling of safety in the city’s downtown appears to have been a success, according to an update to the police services board this week.
From May to September, Barrie police introduced a downtown strategy that was different from previous models, explained Staff Sgt. Angie Butler, a member of the local community safety and well-being team during the Oct. 17 meeting. She said the focus of the strategy was to to create a safe and welcoming environment that was conducive to social, economic and a cultural vibrancy of the downtown and surrounding areas.
During that time period, Butler explained, the department captured data that can be used to inform evidence-based decision making in the future, which can then be used to create more effective and targeted strategies that address the needs of the community in a meaningful way.
It was through exploring the results of the department's annual community safety survey that Barrie police officials say they were able to understand the community’s faults, strengths and challenges and areas of growth, insight from which helps them stay in touch with evolving needs and expectations.
In determining the focus of the strategy, Butler said, they looked at the results of the 2023 survey that were related to the downtown area, and which ultimately focused on the area of the downtown that included waterfront trails, beaches and parks.
“Forty-eight per cent of respondents to the survey said they felt unsafe in downtown Barrie during the day,” she said.
In the survey, Butler said respondents chose their top five concerns in the downtown, with substance abuse, disorderly conduct, panhandling, physical assault and gang activity topping that list.
Thirty-nine cent said they believe increased officer patrols, presence and enforcement would help improve the safety of downtown, she added.
“There is a clear, collective request for an increased police presence, enhanced safety measures and a greater sense of security in these vital areas in our community," Butler said. "At its core, this initiative is driven by the fundamental principle that everyone deserves to feel safe and secure in their surroundings.”
One key aspect was to increase police visibility in the downtown and surrounding areas, she noted.
“Those efforts were multi-faceted, leveraging various resources and personnel to ensure a robust and comprehensive approach (and) two additional sworn officers were added to supplement downtown patrols,” Butler said. “Our focus was high visibility, engaging with members of the public, education of social service resources and enforcement of criminal activity.”
Officers' engagement with members of the community were positively received, while regular conversations with the downtown business community helped strengthen support of the strategy, she added.
In order to increase the visibility in the downtown and to access parks, officers turned their usual mode of transportation from a cruiser to foot, bicycle and utility task vehicle (UTV) patrols.
“There were five incidents where the use of a UTV resulted in positive outcomes ranging from a missing child on a rail trail, a robbery suspect in a park area and the recovery of $1,200 in stolen property that was returned to owners.”
Butler said the objective of the strategy was to increase the perception of safety in the downtown by being present, visible and engaging.
“These efforts helped to reduce overall harm and disorder. As we know from our safety survey, those who do not visit our downtown feel less safe than those who do," she said. "We wanted to reach those people who may not be visiting our downtown to highlight the police presence and visibility.
“Overall, we hope this has led to an increase in perception of safety, which is being measured in the current survey.”
Another positive thing that has come as a result of the initiative, noted Butler, is the development of trust between many of the vulnerable individuals living or spending their time downtown.
“A constant theme voiced by vulnerable individuals, a large number unhoused, is they have come to trust the same officers who are assigned to the core downtown," she said. "These relationships not only aided in an investigation with community safety and well-being officers, but have provided support to eight individuals that resulted in successes ranging from finding permanent housing, reuniting with family and relocation, access to resources for employment (and) shelter from a dangerous situation for a young female.”
The presence of officers during this pilot “had impact and was far reaching”, Butler added.
“Nineteen individual business owners were provided support in different areas that included Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) audits, personal safety education and assistance with social disorder," she said. "Fourteen crime prevention and safety strategy presentations were given, (there were) seven instances of proactive Narcan administration and members of this initiative assisted with encampment efforts throughout these months."
There were also 33 incidents of drug and alcohol seizures from July to October as a result of the pilot.
“Members of the downtown, from our citizens to our vulnerable population, have expressed their support of the downtown strategy, and letters of support have been received as well,” Butler said.
Following the presentation, Police Chief Rich Johnston answered some questions related to downtown statistics and noted that 85 per cent of the call volume in the area is non-criminal.
“Of the 15 per cent that is criminal in nature, it’s actually considered quite low harm when we look at our metrics in terms of the crime severity index — bail violations, theft under $5,000," the chief said. "There are still victims involved and I do recognize that … but when you look at the broad spectrum of offences out there in Canadian society and in cities, we have an incredibly safe downtown.
“The challenge is we have a narrative and the reality that people don’t feel safe.”
Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall commended police for the project.
“The work that is being done down there is incredibly important, not just for the business community but for every single citizen and no one more than those who are struggling with mental health and addiction downtown," he said. "I know we’re not the prime service that would want to respond to these types of issues all the time, but we are there day in and day out."
The mayor later shared a recent interaction his wife had while downtown.
“As you can tell, I eat a lot of bakery-made products. Two weeks ago, my wife was at the bakery," Nuttall said. "As she was walking into the bakery, there was a police officer walking down the street. This officer engaged (with her). She didn’t know him, he didn’t know her … he went in and talked to everybody.
"It became an opportunity for business and for those people who were there to see that and give feedback and feel the effect of the changes in service downtown,” he added. “The reality is we could put 20 officers downtown at any given time and we’d still feel like we don’t have enough from some folks in the community, but the work that’s being done down there is having an effect.”
