(Photo of smashed window at Phog Lounge, courtesy of Phog Lounge on Facebook)(Photo of smashed window at Phog Lounge, courtesy of Phog Lounge on Facebook)
Windsor

Police chief wants to revive roundtable on downtown crime

Frustrated business owners in Downtown Windsor may welcome a revival of a group that brought police, social agencies, businesses, and residents together to talk about their concerns.

Windsor Police Chief Jason Bellaire believes the time is right to bring back the Downtown Safety and Security Roundtable.

Those who don't work or live downtown may have never heard of it, but Bellaire said it was a place where everyone with a stake in the success of downtown. Unfortunately, it was discontinued during the pandemic.

"With new people in different positions, we're looking to start that back up because it does provide a platform for problem-solving," he said.

(Photo of a smashed window courtesy of La Verne's Market on Facebook) (Photo of a smashed window courtesy of La Verne's Market on Facebook)

Some angry business owners have taken to social media to complain about smashed store windows and, in one case, a theft where the thief stole butter tarts from one downtown shop. There is some indication not all of these crimes are reported to the police.

Without that information, Bellaire can't accurately devote resources to address crime. Resources are allocated depending on analytics showing police where they are most needed.

That said, Bellaire insists the police service has kept up its heavy police presence downtown, even increased it recently.

On the flip side, he believes the public perception of crime downtown may be inaccurate.

Windsor Police Chief Jason Bellaire, November 29, 2022. (Photo by Maureen Revait) Windsor Police Chief Jason Bellaire, November 29, 2022. (Photo by Maureen Revait)

"In terms of total property crimes in the downtown area, on a ten-year trend, have decreased notably," he said. "But inside the sub-categories of property crime, some offences go up, and some go down. I would agree that there are times, and this being one of them, where criminal mischief may increase."

Why? Bellaire isn't sure. He suspects several factors are behind the increase.

Meanwhile, there are steps business owners can take to discourage crime, and the police are willing to help.

"If businesses want to work with our members on crime prevention through environmental design, we provide that for free. Our officers in the downtown area are nearly all trained on it," he offered.

"The answer I will get is nobody has the right to break my window to steal my stuff, and I agree with them," he added. "We do a lock it or lose it campaign. They certainly don't have the right to go into your car and steal stuff out of your car if it's unlocked, but boy does it make more sense to lock your car."

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