Downtown issues addressed at monthly Business Revitalization Zone session
By Alexandra Noad - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on October 24, 2024.
Herald photo by Alexandra Noad
Sgt. Ryan Darroch speaks to downtown small business owners about the current state of downtown in regards to crime and how to stay safe, on Monday evening at Casa.The Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone held its monthly Downtown Safety Education Information session this week.
These sessions focus on downtown businesses, however Sarah Amies, executive director of the Downtown BRZ, says they are open to everyone.
“I’m happy to have anybody show up, but it is set up for the downtown,” said Amies.
This month’s session focused on the Business Improvement Loan (BIL) and the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) grants, as well as a presentation about the current state of downtown from Sgt. Ryan Darroch of the Downtown Policing Unit.
Both the BIL loan and the CPTED grants are available to downtown businesses to help either get them on their feet when they are just getting started or are needing help to prevent crime.
Troy Grainger, executive director of Community Features Lethbridge Region, says they work with new small businesses who are struggling with getting loans from the banks.
“Typically, our clientele are businesses that are turned down by banks, or they’re a startup where the banks won’t touch them,” said Grainger.
Community Futures also offers a BIL loan, which they have partnered with the city of Lethbridge, where a business can be approved for a $20,000 loan for three years and they only have to pay the principle and the city pays the interest.
This loan can be used for things such as patio additions, sign and awning designs, exterior and interior lighting and security enhancements such as security systems and roll shutters.
The CPTED grant is also available to small businesses in the downtown core to help increase security measures of their business.
This $5,000 grant can be used for things to decrease vandalism and theft to the business.
Crystal Scheit, Urban Revitalization manager for the City of Lethbridge, encourages business owners in the downtown core to lock up recycling and garbage bins, or keep them inside until pickup day, if possible, as cardboard especially is popular among unhoused individuals in regards to creating makeshift shelters.
In recent years, LPS has lost a significant number of officers, which has drastically reduced the amount of police officers especially in the downtown core.
There are currently only two officers for the downtown core, Sgt. Darroch and one other constable.
They are currently on a four-day on, four-day off rotation.
This means there are four days where there are no police officers patrolling the downtown area, but Darroch is optimistic about what the LPS will look like a year from now.
“I get five new officers starting January 1, which is fantastic. We are very happy about that, it means there will be six constables and myself,” said Darroch.
Darroch added they plan to be on bikes, especially in the downtown back alleys, as it will make it easier to catch thefts.
Darroch has seen the heartbreaking effects the street drugs have on a person. Meth and fentanyl.
While not many people die from a meth overdose, as Darroch explains, “it destroys a person’s soul.”
Fentanyl is the drug primarily responsible for overdose deaths, especially in Lethbridge who, until recently, was leading Canada in overdose deaths.
This is one of the reasons the police force in Lethbridge has almost every day been forced to play the role of a mortician and break the news of a death to family and loved ones.
Another thing officers in the downtown area deal with everyday is weapons. Sometimes these can be guns which appear real, but are not, while others carry machetes in their pant legs.
Either way, if an individual comes across a weapon, they are encouraged to call the police and not take any chances.
Community members are also encouraged to take video or pictures if they are dealing with harassment. This will not only help deter the individual from approaching, but also can be used as evidence if something does happen.
The Watch is also a great tool to keep individuals safe. They offer safe walks as well as have a relationship with the unhoused populations and can use verbal defense to help them move along if they are harassing a business.
The Watch can be contacted by phone at 403-715-9255 and are open daily, apart from holidays, from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.
Amies says she hopes to get a security company for November’s Downtown Safety Education Information session to speak about tips and tricks to keep buildings safe from break-ins.
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https://edmontonsun.com/author/lorne-gunter/
“This means there are four days where there are no police officers patrolling the downtown area”
WTF????
Agree with you 100%! This is why we are mad! The westside has 6-7 officers. The shelter is part of the downtown beat and is the highest crime rate with the second highest been downtown around the Petro Canada station.
As one concerned citizen stated when expressing concerns at the Police Commission meeting, why is it that downtown, which has the highest crime rates in Lethbridge only has 2 officers?
This is a leadership issue, not a shortage of cops issue! We have overpaid leadership making bad decisions and many believe they are making downtown the ‘sacrificial lamb’, but fail to see that issues spread to other areas, so allowing one area of lawlessness will not contain the problem, but like cancer, it spreads.
Chief of Police $220,000 to $244,000
Deputy Chief of Police $180,353 to $216,000
If an Inspector I makes $92 per hour and there are 2,087 work hours in a year he would make:
Inspector I $92.00 per hour
$92 X 2,087 = $192,004 per year
Inspector II $88.12
$183,906.44
Inspector IIII $84.24
$175,808.88
For that amount of money our streets should be free from the issues!