Beef up police patrols in student area, says McLean

By Greg MacDonald, Chronicle Staff
News
Oct 14, 2009

A Waterloo city councillor wants to hire part-time police officers to patrol the city’s core neighbourhoods.

Coun. Ian McLean believes it’s time for the city to deal with issues in neighbourhoods such as Northdale that pop every spring and autumn.

Residents in the core neighbourhoods often complain about issues related to noise and public intoxication when students return to university. McLean believes a beefed-up enforcement strategy anchored by off-duty officers funded by the city and other partners could help.
“I’m not saying it’s any certain type of people causing the problems,” McLean said. “People can come to their own conclusions on that”
“But I think that this is something we’ve been dealing with for a number of years and we need another tool in our toolbox.”

The UpTown Business Improvement Area currently uses this strategy in the city’s core.
McLean believes that there is a gap in the enforcement in the area because city bylaw officers don’t have the power to charge for many infractions. At the same time, noise and alcohol-related offences are a lower priority for police, he added.

“If someone calls in a noise complaint and (the police) are also getting calls for two accidents in New Hamburg and a break and enter in Kitchener, then it might be three hours before they respond to the noise call — as well it should be,” McLean said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we need some presence in our neighbourhoods.”
McLean has asked city staff to review the plan in time for this year’s budget cycle. He’s not sure of what it would cost, but if it’s reasonable, McLean wants patrols Thursday to Saturday nights in April, May, September and October.

McLean also plans to ask the universities to kick in some funds to help cover the costs.
The extra patrols would be a welcome sight in Northdale, the neighbourhood between University and Columbia just north of WLU.
But it does not deal with some of the systemic issues plaguing the neighbourhood, said Deborah Easson, chair of the Northdale Residents Association.
Permanent residents and students will continue to butt heads, no matter how many police are around, she said.

“We have two groups of people with different beliefs and expectations,” she said. “The city should turn this into a student precinct.”
Additional officers would be a good stopgap measure to help quell some of the problems, she added.