While downtown Regina is home to many restaurants and shops, some city dwellers often shy away from visiting the area for one reason or another.
Some talked about the lack of parking, while others pointed out the high crime rate in the area.
Anna Gardikiotis, owner of Copper Kettle, calls Regina police at least once or twice a week for help with vandalism and other issues.
“We’ve seen an increase in graffiti and the police encourage us to report it, but unlike other communities, we don’t have a lot of residents reporting these things,” she said. “So I always encourage all my peers to report all these incidents.”
To address safety concerns in the area, Regina Police are recruiting replacement response officers to assist with situations downtown and help patrol the area.
“It's just to increase visibility and have some extra uniformed personnel to assist people,” said Regina Police Deputy Chief Lorilee Davies.
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Davis said SWAT officers will support officers in three key areas: directly assisting vulnerable populations, providing law enforcement support by taking statements or directing traffic, and assisting with investigations.
“We really see value in connecting with businesses and residents downtown,” she explained.
Gardikiotis hopes the change will improve safety levels in the area.
“We’re glad to hear about these additional resources coming in because especially as a business downtown, we’re seeing gaps (in services),” she said. “Not everything needs to end in an arrest. But we need more help.”
The program, jointly funded by the Regina Police Service and the provincial government, has been running in downtown Saskatoon for about two years.
According to Saskatoon police, the program has been so successful that police have announced additional funding will help the team expand to 15 members starting June 1.
As in Saskatoon, Regina's officers will look slightly different than police officers and will not be armed.
Gadikiotis believes that the increased police presence will continue to improve security trends in the area.
“Just the presence of people is a deterrent,” she said. “Having people in public, drawing attention, is definitely a deterrent to this kind of deviant behavior in our community. That's why we were so happy to hear that we have this program in place in Regina.”
The new officers are expected to start their duties in the fall.
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