At the board meeting, Stubbs said there would be other initiatives announced for the ByWard market “in the coming weeks.”
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Published Apr 22, 2024 • Last updated 11 hours ago • 4 minute read
OTTAWA: Chief of Ottawa Police Service (OPS) Eric Stubbs speaks during a press conference at OPS Elgin St. station in Ottawa, on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Photo by Spencer Colby /POSTMEDIA
The Ottawa Police Service says many of the initiatives outlined in its new Community Outreach Response and Engagement Strategy (CORE) strategy are expected to be in place in the next few weeks, as members of the community express their worries about the plan.
In a press conference Monday, ahead of the Ottawa Police Services Board’s monthly meeting, Ottawa police Chief Eric Stubbs said the project’s timeline outlines that the new neighbourhood operations centre will open “in the latter part” of May.
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Several of the other programs will also be launched around that time and into June, the chief said.
“It is ramping up in terms of sort of that spring busyness and people outside in the Market, so we’re aware of that and we will have a presence there, you know, today, if you will, but we’ll be layering more resources and some of our programs throughout the spring,” he said at an afternoon press conference.
CORE has promised increased police presence in the city’s crime “hot spots” identified using data analytics, like the ByWard Market and surrounding area, along with a new neighbourhood operations centre in a Rideau Centre storefront to serve as “a base of operations to coordinate and launch proactive patrols and focused enforcement efforts.”
The police service said in a recent report that it has taken possession of the space and is now renovating it, with its planned opening at the end of May.
“You’re gonna see with that neighbourhood operations centre, when it opens, there’ll be some writing and some designs on the outside,” Stubbs said. “It is not police-focused, we want this to be a community centre that happens to have the police in it.
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“You’re not gonna see police written all over this building, this is about the community; working with the community to get positive results.”
Stubbs said Monday that the work in the ByWard Market was “sort of a pilot,” adding that the police would like to use data to expand what works well to other areas across the city.
He said there would be other initiatives announced for the Market “in the coming weeks.” Police have stated that a crime prevention “blitz” is planned for the late spring to identify locations and businesses “most affected by crime and social disorder.”
Police said in the report that the strategy was focused on “sustainable prevention, deterrence, and enforcement solutions, and marks a shift from reactive policing to proactive management of community issues.”
“A focusing on the high-harm people is in our narrative for a reason, there are some crimes that are occurring in that area that are very serious,” Stubbs said, highlighting the sale of opioids. “These people do not want help, they continue to create a number of victims every day.”
The Ontario government and the City of Ottawa reached a new funding deal in late March, with $48 million over three years to address community and public safety. That money will pay for an increase in uniformed police officers in the ByWard Market and on the transit system, along with alternative mental health supports.
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An Ottawa Police Services Board report shows crime “hot spots” based on highest Crime Severity Index of primary offences between Feb. 19 and March 17, 2024. Photo by Ottawa Police Services Board
Members of the community participated in the meeting to share their concerns about the CORE plan.
Elizabeth Venczel, ByWard Market resident, criminology PhD student at uOttawa and a member of the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project, said she had several concerns about the plan, particularly the use of hot-spot policing and community partnerships.
Venczel noted that hot-spot policing is problematic, noting that predictive policing systems are racist and lead to individuals being over-policed, arrested “or worse.”
“Hot-spot policing has drawn valid criticism from professionals, academics and activists since it almost always results in discriminatory practices and increased police brutality,” Venczel said. “Communities with limited resources experience a higher rate of documented policing than affluent neighbourhoods, and this will only increase with the implementation of the neighbourhood operation centre.”
“Hot-spot policing in the ByWard Market is a complete violation of our human rights.”
Venczel said she was also concerned that the plan was highlighting community partnerships, noting that it was “attempting to hide the fact that it’s investing in punishment” by claiming to partner with community-based organizations.
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“Rather than investing directly into community organizations that deal with the root causes of harm, such as mental health and substance use services, life skills training, affordable housing, after-school programs for youth and free breakfast programs, OPS is de-legitimizing the efforts of these organizations,” Venczel said.
Resident Jeff Bradley reiterated that point at the meeting, arguing that OPS was “misleading the public” through its neighbourhood operations centre implementation plan, stating that it was leveraging non-profit organizations by pressuring them to be part of the plan and incarcerate net-widening under “the guise that this is an innovative and holistic operation.”
“We know public safety is best enhanced through alternative community interventions that do not rely on the carceral system,” Bradley said, recommending that the centre should not be opened and the plan should be scrapped. “The CORE strategy uses nice words but is code for more cops to police the crisis and criminalize more Ottawa residents.”
Anita Grace, with the Ottawa Police Service, said OPS has been having conversations with stakeholders like businesses, residents and service providers on the project, though police would also like to have community open house conversations in the future.
With files from Marlo Glass.
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