Fredericton's use of private security guards downtown worked, says city staffer
City spent $600K for pilot project to patrol downtown core and multi-use trails
A pilot project that saw private security guards hired to patrol Fredericton's downtown and multi-use trails was a success and should be funded again next year, says the city hall employee who oversaw the program.
Brad Cameron said business owners reported the downtown felt cleaner and safer, and that the Fredericton Police Force had fewer calls for some types of crime this year compared to last.
"I think the project has been a success," he said, speaking to councillors on the city's public safety committee Tuesday.
"[We] accomplished a lot of what we set out to do, not without some challenges ... Some of these issues are really difficult and persist. Core issues of addiction and mental health remain."
Last year, Cameron, the city's assistant director of safety services, proposed the city spend $600,000 on the project to create what he called a community safety services unit.
Made up of private security guards, the unit was to patrol the city from May to November, between the hours of 6 a.m. and 1 a.m., daily.
The pilot was spurred by a series of community engagement sessions, which heard concerns from residents about petty theft, graffiti and a general sense of a lack of safety downtown and on the city's trails.
Councillors approved the funding, though it was met by some criticism as being a "move along" project that would unfairly target the city's homeless population.
With the pilot project winding down, and with budget deliberations for next year underway, Cameron presented an update.
He said the number of reports about graffiti spiked to 30 in May — the month the pilot started — and steadily declined to less than five in each of the following three months.
Calls to police for disturbances, indecent acts, loitering, mischief or property damage, trespassing, and unwanted persons totalled 635 between April and August 2022, he said.
For the same period this year there was a decrease, with 447 calls for those issues in total.
Cameron said while the officers from the unit were also meant to educate trail users on proper etiquette and safety, most of their time got taken up by responding to homeless tent encampments.
Officers tried to not just move people along, he said, but to connect them with outreach services when possible.
Downtown business group pleased
Businesses in the downtown have benefited from the pilot project, said Bruce McCormack, general manager of Downtown Fredericton Inc.
"It's made a big, big difference in downtown," said McCormack, speaking outside his office on King Street following the meeting at city hall.
"We still have problem areas, there's no question, and there's still problem issues. You can't fix everything overnight, but all in all, we're very pleased."
McCormack said business owners have had issues with loitering, panhandling and disturbances.
He said just the presence of the security guards, early in the morning and late at night, offers some reassurance and appears to act as a deterrent.
"It's a big role," McCormack said, adding that if council can afford it, more officers should be brought in and put on the streets.
"They're the ... eyes and ears for police, and it's been working very well."
'It just freaks people out'
Standing on the sidewalk of King Street on Tuesday, Robbie MacDonald said although he's not homeless, he does spend a lot of his time on the streets of Fredericton.
He said he's had interactions with community safety officers and finds them to be more intimidating than helpful.
"I feel like they're just threatening ... and they're not much help for anybody, really, with mental health disorders or PTSD, and it just freaks people out.... So I really don't feel much safer with them."
MacDonald said instead of the city hiring private security guards, he'd like to see police officers approach people like him with more of a focus on connecting them with the counselling and addiction services they need.
City picking up after province, mayor says
Mayor Kate Rogers thanked Cameron for his presentation and said the photos he showed of encampments were distressing.
However, she said she doesn't think Fredericton should be paying to hire private security guards, adding the reason they're needed stems from a lack of provincial supports.
"This unit is extremely costly for our city. Fredericton taxpayers are paying for this," she said.
"So in addition to paying a provincial government for social development services, we're now paying to have a security unit."
Rogers noted that while some of the work by the unit is related to crime and safety, much of it intersected with issues related to homelessness and addiction.
"A lot of the outreach issues that we're dealing with, they are not typical policing issues. They are not typical city issues, and I do not feel that we should be needing to foot the bill for that."
Councillors on the committee ultimately voted in favour of forwarding the request for funding to council ahead of budget deliberations happening this month and next.
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