MOOSE JAW — The Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) is seeing success with its safety initiatives throughout the community, while it continues to look for ways to address residents’ concerns.
Sgt. Ryan Lawrence provided an update about those safety projects during the Board of Police Commissioners’ September meeting.
Shopping carts
The MJPS launched its shopping cart project in July, where it aimed to recover four-wheelers that it was finding on streets, in parks, the river or in alleys. Moreover, it also sought to take back carts from residents who were using them to transport their belongings or stolen property.
Lawrence told the board that police have seized, found or recovered 38 carts during the past two months and returned them to their downtown owners.
“They’re very happy to come grab them,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, SARCAN had asked the police service to erect signs in the parking lot and inside the building encouraging people to return shopping carts to the proper stores, Lawrence said. These signs are necessary because some residents have been hassling employees whenever they tell them to take away the push-trolleys.
“They were told to call if they have issues,” he stated.
Beat patrol
The police service’s efforts to patrol the downtown on foot have been going well, as officers have spoken with residents and business owners about what is happening in the area, said Lawrence.
Meanwhile, officers are patrolling Crescent Park overnight and reporting anything they find to a senior officer.
Trespassing
The agency launched The Moose Jaw Trespass Prevention Program (MJTPP) in May and, after starting with just downtown businesses, has now expanded the program to cover other properties throughout the community like strip malls, said Lawrence.
There have been 131 properties that have joined the initiative, although by including places like strip malls, many more businesses are actually under the MJTPP umbrella, he pointed out. The site visits have also prompted some owners to join.
Many complaints the MJPS receives are not just about trespassing but also about disturbance calls and the need to conduct business checks, many things that the agency continues to monitor, Lawrence continued.
“When I go through the complaints (and) when I see something that looks like an issue, I reach out to the people and touch base with them, whether they’re in the program or not,” he added.
This program is not a passive initiative where business owners are the only ones keeping an eye on things, said Chief Rick Bourassa. Even if a business is not participating in the anti-trespassing program, officers will still visit a building if they see someone inside after hours.
Commissioner Doug Blanc said some business owners have told him that they are struggling with people who want to use their bathrooms, considering there are few public washrooms downtown. He wondered if the police had noticed this issue as well.
The reports the police usually receive — and to which they respond — are about people who remain in the bathroom for an excessively long time or who leave behind a big mess, said Lawrence. However, owners are usually OK with people using the facilities and then leaving right after.
“We’re already patrolling the city on a regular basis. However, to help assist with areas of concern that may not be getting checked as often, we’re implementing a check or report-back type of system for properties, parks, playgrounds and green spaces,” he continued.
Strategic services will choose the targeted areas based on intelligence gained through service calls, social media and conversations with residents and business owners, Lawrence added. The agency will then relay these areas to the evening patrol shifts.
