Downtown public safety focus of upcoming council meeting

“At the next council meeting, we will hear from the RCMP about the state of public safety, as well as what is the true data based on his understanding of the situation.”

In response to the request, Superintendent Rappel wrote:

“I can confirm the Prince George City RCMP have also heard back from community members about an apparent influx of homeless people in the downtown area. Police Officers have reported back that there are unfamiliar faces in the downtown area, however it does not appear to be outside the normal ebb and flow of what is typically observed when the weather improves.”

He continues: “I do believe that the dislocation of people from the Lower Patricia Blvd Encampment (LPBE) is driving a portion of the increase in persons in the downtown core. Not everyone accepted the housing options on offer from BC Housing. As to the perception of safety, business activity, and public confidence, I can say we make every effort to keep the community safe. This includes the downtown core, as well as the rest of PG and our rural areas.”

So what does Mayor Yu expect from the June 8 meeting?

“I want the public to know we’re not hiding anything whatsoever. Mayor Yu knows what City Council knows, and we want the public to have the same information foremost.”

And Mayor Yu admits the issue is bigger than two parties: the City and its law enforcement arm. It may require the city’s own Director of Administration Services, Eric Depenau, who oversees public safety, to weigh in.

“I want him, during that meeting, to also see if we can come compliment the RCMP report with Fire and fire Incident reports as well as a local interaction between our Bylaws with the homeless people to see if we’ll get a more complete set of data.”

And he says he hopes to use all that amassed information from the meeting on June 8 to identify gaps in services and ways to better fill those gaps.

by Cheryl Jahn

Downtown public safety focus of upcoming council meeting

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