Giving suggestions

A multicultural youth council is asking for more police presence in high risks areas in the city.

Members of the Regional Multicultural Youth Council met with both Thunder Bay Police Service chief J.P. Levesque and deputy chief Andy Hay in order to create a better working partnership.  The agenda had a number of topics that they discussed including curfews and setting up an alcohol and drug free transition centre.

But the group’s president, Meghan Payment, said the discussions went well and they will have a follow up in the New Year with another meeting.

“We have a youth centre on 511 Victoria Avenue and we were talking about having more police presence there and also Limbrick Street and Academy Drive and other areas that are high risk,” she said. “We want to partner with them and create a safer, more inclusive area.”

Police weren’t supportive of a curfew because there might be a reason why youth don’t want to be home. Payment said that they would want a curfew if they also had a 24-hour youth centre that police could bring people to.

To lessen the tension between youth and police, Payment said officers are looking at additional sensitivity training.

“They said that they have already done some cultural sensitivity training but they also want to revisit that and go through some non-bias training,” she said. “They also want to ask for volunteers from different communities to give more of their input.”

She added they want to hold a few forums with the local school boards in the future.

Levesque praised the group’s moxie for coming to him with suggestions and their organization. He said they explained the evolution of neighbourhood policing and their plans for zone policing.

“Instead of having on individual officer assigned to an area where at the most in a month you get 160 hours coverage we’d have zone policing where officers from all different units will be assigned,” he said.

“You would not only see one officer but a group of officers all the time. It’s like leap frogging. We’re hoping people in the zones or districts get to know these six, seven or eight officers that will be assigned to that zone.”

With the sensitivity training, Levesque said the lessons have changed to include Aboriginal issues, sexual orientation and issues relating to new Canadians.