The Somerset Community Police Centre’s decision to pack up and move to city hall has raised concerns in the community about a dwindling police presence. But police say law enforcement visibility and programs run by the centre will not be affected by the change of address.
The centre closed for three months last year and began the search for a new location after suffering through a series of floods. Still, it was the locale’s high rent, says Insp. Uday Jaswal, that prompted police to find a less expensive place to deliver their programs. The current location is “a fairly big space we’re not using,” he says.
Jaswal says city hall may be a better location for the centre, but community leaders say it may not be for downtown residents.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” says Rob Dekker, vice-president of the Centretown Citizens Community Association. “We don’t know whether they’re going to be putting more boots on the ground.”
Community opinion is divided about the move, says Dekker, but crime prevention is the one concern everyone shares.
“Is the area going to remain as safe as it is?” he asks. “And I guess we really won’t know until the time comes over the next few months.” They will know, he says, when residents start calling 911 more often or turn their concerns to the CCCA.
But police presence in the community, says Jaswal, will not be affected by the move.
Jaswal says the delivery of programs is dependent not so much on the physical location of the centre as the officer in the community. And the Centretown area also benefits from foot and traffic patrol – all of which are involved in community engagement and crime prevention. The centre also delivers these programs online, racking up a number of hits.
Back in 2004, a methadone clinic controversially opened next door to the centre, leading residents to believe that drug users and criminals would be drawn to the neighbourhood. But Dekker says the police centre’s presence may have acted as a crime deterrent.
Jaswal says police receive few calls for assistance at the clinic and adds there are many clinics across the city not located next to a police centre but they operate without issue on a regular basis.
Michael Powell, president of the Dalhousie Community Association, says police presence won’t necessarily plummet, but the police and the community have to work together to keep it at the level they’ve been enjoying for years.
The centre will be moving from a residential neighbourhood to the second floor of city hall – a business and administrative area, leading to concerns about visibility and access to services, says Dekker.
The centre currently sits in a storefront, making it easily visible to anyone who wanders by, says Powell, but tucking it away in city hall makes it less visible to passers-by. “You really have to know there’s a community police centre in city hall.”
But the current location sees very few walk-ins, says Jaswal, adding the city hall address may see more visitors as it is in a city service-centered area.
Jaswal says police finally settled on city hall after an “exhaustive” search. “This looks like the first location that’s really going to meet our needs,” he says, and it may offer an improvement to service delivery.
The centre is scheduled to re-open at city hall in early September.