THUNDER BAY - The Thunder Bay Police Service continues to move forward on recommendations handed down as part of the Seven Youth Inquest.
Insp. Ryan Gibson with the community services branch of the Thunder Bay Police Service provided a status report to the Thunder Bay Police Services Board on the implementation of the recommendations.
“I’m really happy with our progress,” Gibson said. “I think we’ve made some great strides. We’ve completed a number of our tasks. The ones that are still in progress or ongoing we are working hand-in-hand with our partners such as NAN, NAPS, and I think we are moving forward in a positive direction.”
The Seven Youth Inquest into the deaths of Jethro Anderson, Reggie Bushie, Robyn Harper, Kyle Morrisseau, Paul Panacheese, Curran Strang, and Jordan Wabasse, who died in local waterways between 2000 and 2011, concluded in June 2016 with 145 jury recommendations.
Gibson highlighted several of the recommendations to the Police Services Board that are either complete or in progress.
“The Floodway Project, we’ve had a success with that as far as I’m concerned,” Gibson said. “We will see how the stats play out next year, but last year was positive, the year before was positive, so I think it’s all good.”
The Floodway Project began in November 2016 in response to recommendation 115 of the inquest. The project collected data throughout 2017 and 2018 to identify high-risk areas near city waterways, such as McVicar Creek, Neebing/McIntyre Floodway, the Lower Neebing River, and the Kaministiqua River.
The number of incidents decreased from 2017 to 2018 and last year police were involved in 47 possible-life saving interventions and six probable life-saving interventions.
“If you look at previous numbers and reports, we have saved quite a few lives in terms of risky situations where people potentially could have been put in harm’s way,” said Thunder Bay Police Service chief Sylvie Hauth.
As part of the Floodway Project, officers with the uniform patrol branch patrol high-risk areas three times a day and there is a stronger police presence in these areas.
“As a result of that, last year we only had one person who passed away as a result of drowning as opposed to a few more the year before,” Gibson said.
Other recommendations highlighted in Gibson’s report include continuing to engage with Indigenous youth in the city and region, with members of the Police Service visiting 11 communities last year.
The Police Service will also continue to work with local and regional partners on several initiatives, including a multilingual joint search protocol with Lakehead Search and Rescue and Nishnawbe Aski Nation.
Gibson commended the work being done with partnering organizations and he said there are challenges, but its part of the process when working on a project of this scope.
“We are addressing them and there is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “It just takes time to work through it. It’s like any large project. There is a start point and end point, and you just have to work through it.”
Substance abuse and the worsening opioid crisis continues to present challenges to the Police Service and all organizations, Gibson said, and the Police are continuing to work with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and the Beer Store to prevent underage drinking and third party purchasing of alcohol for minors.
“The police can’t solve all this,” Gibson said. “The issues that drive the crime rate in our community are predominately driven by substance abuse issues, alcohol and narcotics, especially the opioid epidemic. The police are just one piece of the puzzle. We work with different partners because we know they have resources and answers we can’t access.”
“We recognize those challenges and work on strategies and move forward. I think that really needs to be hammered home throughout the community and the province the good work that is going on in our community.”
