Saint Johners weigh in on city policing through surveys

​Anyone who works or lives in Saint John is now invited to comment on what they want from their police department over the next five years.

It's an invita​tion Bryan Wilson accepted this week, as he took part in the first public session on the issue, held at Assumption Centre on the city's west side. 

CBC News was asked not to record the session, but Wilson agreed to talk about why he attended and why he thinks the police are doing a good job. 

"Certainly, we see they're doing a good job of responding to emergencies," he said. "I think there was a report that came out last year that said Saint John is one of the safest cities in Canada."

Wilson went on to say that going uptown, he is struck by the number of people in distress

"I've heard lots of people who are very concerned about folks who are in some kind of crisis, that they meet in the street. And that's not just here," he added. "I think that's anywhere in Canada.

Wilson is glad the Saint John police were never deployed to displaced homeless encampments like he's seen in other cities. Halifax police forcibly ejected homeless people in that city's downtown in 2021. 

"I think the police force has been compassionate and patient,"  he said about Saint John.

Police officers also completing surveys

Opinions are being gathered through focus groups, public meetings and surveys which are available online and for pick up at the police station and public library.

The feedback is being gathered by the University of New Brunswick's Centre for Criminal Justice Studies and Policing Research.

The data will go into a final report to be submitted to the Saint John Police Commission. The commission will then set priorities for the next five years, including metrics for measuring success. 

Saint John police Chief Robert Bruce says members of the force are also taking part, and 98 internal surveys have already been completed. 

Bruce and his department will consider what the public is asking for and try to respond with actionable items while staying within the budget. 

"It all comes down to money," he said Tuesday at a police commission meeting, on the topic of expanding community policing.

Researchers want to hear hyper-local concerns

Mary Ann Campbell, director of the Centre of Criminal Justice Studies at UNB Saint John, says the more people who participate, the better the data will be.

More dates for public sessions will be posted on the Saint John Police Force website. There's a deliberate effort to capture hyper-local concerns in specific neighbourhoods. 

Police do not attend the sessions and the surveys are kept confidential. 

"Because it's anonymous there will be no way to identify who filled it out, where they live or anything like that," said Campbell. "So it allows people to speak very freely."

The last time the Saint John public was surveyed about policing was 2021. 

Those surveys turned up positive comments for how the force handled traditional policing such as safety, fire calls, missing people, and emergency management. 

Areas identified for improvement included the mental health response in the city. People also asked for a greater police presence in the community and an increase in community officers. 

Increased police visibility appreciated

Saint John police commission chair Tamara Kelly says the message was received, and that's what led to the launch of the community engagement team in June 2022. The team includes eight officers assigned to cover beats on the east side of the city, the north end, the west side and the south end. 

"They're able to see community members and they're able to talk with staff in the area, just to keep that familiarity,"  Kelly said.

"As a community member that actually lives in the uptown, and my partner is actually a business owner in the uptown, I can say just from the circle of persons that we know in the area, there's been a very positive response to having the officers come in and say, 'Hi, this is who I am.'

"You know, just the other day I saw them testing the new e-bikes down in the Lower Cove Loop. So there's lots of visibility."

Then in January, the police launched a quick response team, dedicated to the Waterloo Village area and the uptown. Kelly said it was only possible because the City of Saint John passed a budget that included funding for four new officers. 

The university research team also plans to hear from non-profit groups, who are being invited to attend their own feedback sessions. 

Business owners are invited to attend a specific roundtable on May 29 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club, although other members of the public will also be welcome. 

The Crime Severity Index, a measure used by Statistics Canada, that captures the volume and severity of police-reported crime in Canada, assigned a score of 52 to Saint John in 2023.

In comparison, Fredericton scored 84. Moncton scored 103 and Halifax scored 72.