Panhandling complaints in Moncton provoke joint RCMP-city project

RCMP are teaming up with Moncton bylaw enforcement officers to try to gauge panhandling activity in the downtown.

Codiac RCMP Supt. Tom Critchlow told a meeting of the Codiac Regional Policing Authority on Thursday evening about a pilot project that started on March 4.

Critchlow said the initiative is about raising visibility.

The Codiac detachment is providing an officer Monday through Saturday to assist a city bylaw officer for two hours  a day walking around the downtown.

Collecting information

The pair will be talking to panhandlers about their personal circumstances, including what led them to panhandle, and gathering other information, which will be compiled for analysis.

Moncton doesn't ban panhandling exactly, but a bylaw puts several restrictions on it. For instance, panhandling isn't allowed within 10 metres of any building in the Business Improvement Area or in parking lots.

Panhandlers also aren't allowed to restrict the passage of pedestrians or harass people who refuse to give money.  

Critchlow said panhandling is not a matter the RCMP enforce, but they do deal with perceived threats. 

He said there have been complaints about panhandlers from downtown merchants and members of the public.

"Individuals being followed down the street if they said no, or along those lines, but I think they're the rare ones, few and far between," he said. "I don't want to alarm people that it's rampant, but it's a concern."

Coun. Charles LeBlanc, the chair of the Codiac Regional Policing Authority, said he too has heard complaints from businesses and citizens.

"It's getting warmer now and there seem to be more activities so I think it's an opportunity now to say, 'OK, we need to figure out a strategy and it's going to be a long-term one,'" he said.

Leger said this project will help measure how many offences are occurring.

"Moving forward we'll be able to better to assess the number of bylaw enforcement officers that are needed, and I think the RCMP have been very good at providing their expertise and their backup on this," he said.

Leger said the matter will likely come back to council for discussion.

Critchlow said he's hoping data collected during the patrols will help determine what happens next.

"Every day we're intersecting with some of the clients and talking to them, talking to the merchants who are glad to see not just us, but bylaw enforcement." he said.

The program wraps up March 31 and will be renewed monthly.