Windsor police to deploy more officers downtown, leaders encourage community involvement

Windsor police will deploy more officers to the city's downtown core over the next three days, in a bid to "promote public safety and reduce incidents of crime" on the heels of a violent assault downtown over the weekend. 

Uniformed officers will be in the core on foot and bicycle starting Thursday and until Saturday, police said in a statement Wednesday. 

"We have heard the concerns of business owners, residents and community advocates in the downtown core," said A. Supt. Karel Degraaf from patrol services. "By fostering open dialogue and trust, we hope to stimulate collaborative strategies that address the issues that matter most to the people who live and work in the area."

The campaign will be carried out by members of the Windsor police's city centre patrol, joined by the problem-oriented policing unit, community services, cadets, nurse-police teams, and mobile crisis rapid response teams. 

Police said the teams will focus on engaging business owners and residents in the downtown core, while reducing public disorder and nurturing stronger relationships with the downtown community. 

The announcement comes on the heels of what police called an "extremely vicious" assault in the area over the weekend that left one man in critical condition. Police are looking for four suspects in relation to the attack, which took place on Pelissier Street and University Avenue around 3 a.m. Saturday morning.

Police released a graphic video of the victim being slammed to the ground.  

Downtown advocates encourage more community involvement in city's core

But despite the high-profile incident of violence, community advocates for the downtown said they don't necessarily think incidents like these are a growing problem.

"Those incidents stand out," said Bob Cameron, executive director of the Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative (DWCC). "There's change in the neighbourhoods with folks, the homeless situation, folks in our presence, but it's never been a dangerous situation, nothing that I worry about."

In response to the Windsor police plan to increase their presence downtown, Cameron said that it'll help reassure people — but he wants the community to think about the larger systemic issues at play when violence occurs downtown. 

Programs within the DWCC work to engage youth and families on physical and mental health, trauma and understanding their emotional development and how to cope with challenges, said Alex Song, director of operations for the DWCC's ACCEL Youth Program. 

They can work with youth to help identify safe places if they find themselves in unsafe situations and also work to de-escalate situations. 

"I would love to see more adults with their children coming out, taking part in the events that we do downtown… or just spending more time with their children in public places," Song said. "We found that we have big gatherings of children, but what's lacking there is the presence of their parents or their adults for different reasons. 

"I would love to see some more family-oriented activities for families to do together in public spaces."

While solutions like video cameras might help, Cameron said they can also encourage fear and pull focus away from positive solutions. 

"Get to know your neighbour," he said. "The most significant thing that we can do that's easy and attainable for all of us is bringing folks out of isolation into relationships where we can enjoy the people who live up and down the street."