Downtown businesses say public drunkenness, violence alarming customers

Some business owners in Yellowknife's downtown core are concerned public drunkenness and violence is escalating, affecting their ability to attract customers, but police and community organizations say it's a community problem that will take many heads to solve.

James McGaughey, owner of Ragged Ass Barbers at YK Centre Mall, says since he moved his business to the central location just over two years ago he has noticed public drunkenness getting out of hand and it is scaring away potential customers.

"Monday morning there was a woman in a wheelchair and another woman punching her in the head and screaming loud obscenities," said McGaughey.

"And I've got a seven-year-old boy in my chair and his mother is looking at me, saying 'This is exactly why I don't bring my children downtown.'"

McGaughey said the situation has gotten worse in the last three months. He said people are often found sleeping in the hallways and sometimes fighting right inside the mall.

"It's frustrating. I mean, it's out of my control. There's nothing I can really do. I can ask them to leave, but on the other hand it's not my job to be doing that, either.

"I feel like there's not enough being done within the city or with the government to prevent this type of thing."

Verbal abuse

Leslie Bromley owns the Gourmet Cup in the lower section of the mall. She has been a tenant for nine years.

In the last two years she has been providing free sandwiches and hot coffee to the city's homeless. She said she can get up to 25 people in a day. Bromley said most times people behave — sit in the café and eat, take a nap or leave once they get a meal — but she said there are times it can be difficult.

"They get rude. Verbally abusive," she said.

"We try and show respect for you. If we show respect for you, then you can show respect for us. If you can't show us respect, then we'll ask you to leave."

Bromley said she has had to call the police on several occasions and that something needs to be done to address the issue.

Const. Elenore Sturko said police do regular patrols and foot patrols in the downtown area during peak hours. She said she doesn't know if the problem is growing but substance abuse is a continuing issue in the downtown.

"We certainly do want the public and business owners to continue calling the RCMP, especially in situations where there are concerns for safety."

Sturko said the police are working with local agencies and the city to find ways to address substance abuse in the downtown. 

"We are exploring all the possibilities where we can bring people. If there's a shelter or other services available, then we're looking to those avenues as well, not just looking to charge people simply for maybe having a substance abuse problem."

Not a job for police

The John Howard Society's Lydia Bardak agrees.

"Being mentally unwell is not a crime and yet we want our crime fighters to deal with it," said Bardak.

She said she hasn't noticed the situation downtown get any worse.

Bardak said the Society provides seven volunteers that walk the downtown area for about four hours per week. They talk to people, take them to shelters and also help diffuse situations.

She said she can sympathize with residents if they are fearful but said "We're not talking about random acts of violence towards strangers." 

She said most incidents are between people who are "well-known to one another and an argument erupts."

Many people on downtown streets also have mental health issues and lack communication skills, she said, and short-term addiction recovery programs that return people to the same environment that got them into trouble in the first place are not necessarily the answer.

Bardak said there needs to be a longer term plan with more aftercare and supports in place but says nobody is taking the lead role.

"Right now we have a gap in the community in that we don't have a roundtable for discussing these issues," she said.

"There's various little pockets and little groups that are trying to address it but no one is actually bringing everyone together at one table to see whose role is it and what needs to happen. So we've really stumbled into a period of a lack of co-ordination in Yellowknife."