In response to safety concerns, St. John's mayor wants police to patrol downtown on foot

Darrell Roberts · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Some members of St. John's metropolis assembly are calling for constabulary ft patrols successful the downtown country successful effect to information concerns from residents and businesses.

St. John's Mayor Danny Breen says residents person identified nationalist information arsenic a apical contented successful respective caller surveys conducted by the city, including a caller feedback forum connected the yearly Water Street pedestrian mall.

"If radical are not feeling harmless successful that area, I deliberation that that needs to beryllium addressed," helium said successful an interrogation with CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. "And 1 of the champion ways to code this is to person a higher illustration of policing successful the area."

Beginning successful 2020, the metropolis of St. John's has closed parts of Water Street to conveyance postulation for the summertime months, turning the country into a pedestrian-only space. Last fall, the metropolis initiated a nationalist feedback process to look at the aboriginal of the downtown pedestrian mall.

Staff presented an overview of that feedback astatine this week's committee of the full meeting, including submissions from some businesses and members of the public. According to the report, safety and transgression were apical concerns for some residents and businesses.

Those concerns aren't new.

Over the past 2 years, concern owners and musicians person spoken retired astir robberies and assaults successful the downtown area. Earlier this year, 2 men were arrested aft a brazen robbery astatine a Water Street business.

Two years ago, the city and the provincial authorities provided $180,000 to a radical called the Downtown Safety Coalition, which included some levels of authorities arsenic good arsenic Downtown St. John's, the George Street Association, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and others.

Last year, conjugation spokesperson Don-E Coady told CBC News the wealth was being utilized to money backstage information successful the downtown area, including connected George Street.

More information coming

Over the past fewer summers, the metropolis has paid for backstage information successful the Water Street area during the moving of the mall. This coming summer, according to Breen, the metropolis plans to prosecute adjacent much information for the area. But Breen says helium would inactive alternatively spot the RNC behaviour ft patrols.

"I don't deliberation backstage information down determination is arsenic almighty arsenic having a constabulary beingness there," helium said.

Breen says he's pleased to spot much wealth successful this year's provincial fund for policing, including the summation of 10 much frontline RNC officers located successful the northeast Avalon Peninsula.

Jill Bruce, councillor for Ward 1 and pb for assemblage services, agreed with the mayor's telephone for ft patrols successful the downtown area.

"It would assistance with not lone the existent contented of safety, but the perceived contented of safety," she said.

LISTEN | St. John's metropolis councillor Jill Bruce discusses feedback connected the downtown pedestrian mall: 

In erstwhile years, immoderate residents and assemblage groups person pushed backmost against calls for further policing successful the downtown area, alternatively asking for that wealth to beryllium spent connected different initiatives, similar poorness reduction.

According to Statistics Canada, the wide transgression complaint successful the St. John's country — which includes the communities surrounding the superior metropolis — accrued by 7.5 per cent from 2022 to 2023. The severity of police-reported convulsive transgression besides steadily accrued between 2014 to 2023. 

However, those statistics, which screen an country wherever astir 224,000 radical live, are not circumstantial to the city's downtown area.

CBC News has asked the RNC for much circumstantial statistic connected police-reported crime successful downtown St. John's.

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