A pilot program to help end panhandling, criminal behaviour and drug dealing to create a safer downtown Barrie will be considered by city councillors Monday night.
This could include using paid duty police officers or a private security company, from July to October, according to an item-for-discussion motion from Coun. Mike McCann.
“I’ve heard this for eight-plus years that people feel that our downtown is not safe,” he said. “I’m completely convinced that’s a perception, not a reality, so I’m doing everything in my power as a councillor to change that perception and to put more people in downtown so businesses can be more successful.”
McCann said Barrie police need more resources to handle what goes on downtown
“The police have done a fantastic job keeping their budgets as low as possible and quite frankly now we’re seeing the result of that,” he said. “For every decision to lower the (police) budget, that has a consequence and that consequence in my eye is a lack of police.
“I think that we need more enforcement downtown so we get the perception downtown is that it’s safe and welcoming.”
This year’s Barrie police budget is $58.9 million, a 2.88 per cent increase from 2021.
McCann, who is Barrie’s councillor for Ward 10, located in the southeast end of the city, said he wants this action for downtown Barrie because his responsibility is to the entire city first, then his ward.
Asked if his motion means Coun. Keenan Aylwin was not doing his job as Ward 2 councillor, McCann declined comment.
Aylwin did comment on McCann’s motion, however.
“Coun. McCann’s proposal is ignorant and harmful. We will not let him pit downtown residents against our own neighbours,” Aylwin said. “People who are living in poverty deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. They deserve real support and compassion, not criminalization and demonization.
“Some politicians think they can score cheap political points by pitting residents against each other and by fear-mongering,” he added. “I think that’s what is happening here, and it is so completely unacceptable and disgusting. If we want to end poverty, we should instead advocate for real policy changes that will support people, like raising the rates of (Ontario Works) and ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program) above the poverty line or guaranteeing access to housing by building social and supportive housing.
“Not only is Coun. McCann’s proposal completely cruel, it’s not an effective use of resources and most importantly. It won’t solve a damn thing.”
McCann’s motion asks that correspondence be sent to the Barrie Police Services Board requesting that it consider and provide recommendations for a pilot program to run from July to October 2022 to eradicate panhandling on city streets and highway ramps, including the installation of planters along medians, in consultation with the Ontario Provincial Police and municipal law enforcement.
The pilot program would also look at ending criminal disorder and behaviour, along with drug dealing, in downtown Barrie in order to create a safe place for residents, workers and small-business owners. This would include alternatives to dropping off individuals from Central North Correctional Centre (CNCC) in Penetanguishene in Barrie’s downtown, using paid duty officers or a private security firm, and a report on any financial impacts.
The Barrie Police Services Board would be requested to hold special meetings, if required, to expedite a response to the city on these matters.
And if the police board provides a response recommending that these actions cannot be accomplished, city staff would investigate the feasibility of a pilot program, from July to October this year, to retain a private security firm to monitor the situations of panhandling and drug dealing in the downtown area and report any concerning actions to Barrie police to address. This plan includes security personnel wearing attire that is non-threatening or invasive.
Staff would also look at the costs of establishing this program and report back to Barrie councillors before summer recess begins in July.
McCann was also in downtown Barrie this week doing a survey titled ‘Is Downtown Barrie Safe and Inviting?’. Its purpose is to let city council know how store owners, shoppers and residents feel about the state of the downtown.
‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions include the level of downtown safety, is there increasing drug use and prostitution, should there be more police presence, do police need more resources, should panhandling be stopped, and are there too many social services in the core.
McCann said he hoped to speak with “a couple of hundred” people before Monday’s general committee meeting.
“The purpose of this really is to start a fire, to start a conversation so we can get a solution real quick,” he said. “Summer’s here and I don’t want this to be a summer that we look back in hindsight and say ‘Oh, I wish we did this’.”
McCann has also cited Barrie’s homeless numbers as a cause for concern.
On Jan. 23-25, the County of Simcoe counted 722 people experiencing homelessness during its enumeration. Of those 722, 441 completed surveys and 50 per cent were from Barrie.
County officials also track bed nights used in emergency shelters, another way to gauge homelessness. In 2021, Barrie had 55,349 bed nights in its shelters, which include the Busby Centre, Salvation Army, Youth Haven, and the Elizabeth Fry Society. Last year, Simcoe County’s bed nights, including Barrie, totalled 88,017.
