The City of Thompson's public safety committee is holding a public meeting at the Letkemann Theatre in R. D. Parker Collegiate from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on April 29 to discuss ways to improve public safety in the community.
Dave Prud'homme, owner of Prairie Bylaw Enforcement (PBLE), was at a meeting of Thompson's mayor and council on April 12 to present a report on what PBLE officers have been doing in the community lately.
In his report, Prud'homme pointed out that there have been increases in almost every area in a January to March comparison of statistics. Open liquor infractions have gone up 43 per cent from 905 in January-March 2009 to 1,297 this year, while liquor disposal has gone up from 366 to 475, or 30 per cent. The disposal of non-potable substances has increased by 66 per cent from 32 to 53, while foot patrols were up 28 per cent and requests for service were up 40 per cent. Loitering statistics were up 39 per cent.
Loitering accounted for the most infractions that PBLE officers dealt with, followed by open liquor complaints. The most summons issued were for parking violations - a total of 104 - while the most City of Thompson notices were given out for garbage with 17 in total.
When it comes to property standards, another issue PBLE officers have been attempting to focus on in the City of Thompson, a total of 11 notices were opened and closed in January; five were opened, four of which were closed in February; and 23 were opened with 17 being closed in March. Again, the majority of these infractions were for garbage.
Coun. Stella Locker pointed out that more emphasis needs to be put on maintaining property standards while at the same time focusing on problems of loitering and open liquor, especially in the downtown core. She suggested that the City of Thompson discuss such matters at the April 29 meeting. Mayor Tim Johnston, before extending an invitation for Prud'homme to attend the meeting, said that although the increase in incidents was "startling", he was pleased to see an increased amount of foot patrols being performed by the PBLE officers, as well as how fast they respond to calls for service.
PBLE has come under fire lately after Lou Morissette, owner of Setting Security Consultants, presented city council with a five-year public safety plan on Feb. 1, in which he said PBLE - with a $456,000 annual contract, approximately - is not mitigating problems in the downtown. Morissette's is the most pointed criticism aimed at PBLE since the City of Thompson contracted their services in the fall of 2007. Morissette is also a citizen appointee on the public safety committee, former MLCC liquor inspector in Thompson and a retired RCMP staff sergeant.
Shortly after the Thompson Citizen published the story about Morisette's report, Prud'homme fired back at his claims - an example being that PBLE officers receive "basic training". According to Prud'homme, while some members of the community view the officers in a negative light, most of the general public supports them and the work they're doing.
