It is not a coincidence that the four new Guelph Police officers that will be dedicated to working in Downtown Guelph all have strong ties with the Royal City.Its by design.
Those officers are part of a new six month pilot project to increase the visibility of police downtown with the goal of making it safer for everyone that uses it.
Three of the four downtown resource officers were presented to the media Thursday at police headquarters during a media briefing.
Constables Adam Shutsa, Carson Skipper and Dan Urbshas are all Guelph boys, while Const. James Perdicaris is a University of Guelph grad.
"They were not chosen by accident," said Sgt. Dustan Howe, who will oversee the four downtown resource officers, who will be joining Const. Mark O'Connell who is already assigned to the downtown.
"They have an investment in the city just like everyone else here does and we think that with their unique connection to the downtown, that they may have more of an interest than some others that do not."
Howe said the officers will complement the work O'Connell is doing and learn from it.
They will be meeting with representatives of various downtown programs that provide specific social services to some of its population, including the Welcoming Streets Initiative staff, HOPE House, the Drop In Centre and the Guelph Community Health Clinic, in order to better understand the needs of the community they will be immersed in.
The officers hit the sidewalk – they will primarily be on foot patrol – starting April 1. Howe said it might not always be 24/7 coverage, as some time slots require more attention than others.
The hope is the officers will not be called out of the downtown for other service calls and the regular police presence on busy nights will not be reduced in any way.
At the end of September the project will be evaluated for next steps.
"We will gather stats, gather more info, see what's going well and not going so well," said Howe.
"They will be visible and they will be engaged. I can't say that enough. We understand the issues with perception of safety downtown."
The police previously stated that the new downtown officers are not a reaction to recent serious crimes that have happened there, but are part of a plan started months ago to increase community policing and to increase the uniformed police presence on downtown streets.
Don Drone, who chairs the Guelph Police services Board, said the project has been in the works for six or seven months. Funding comes out of the existing police budget.
It's a redeployment of resources, not adding additional resources, although it should be noted the force got funding for 17 new officers in the last city budget.
"We know there was a need, there's no question about that," Drone said.
He said unlike several Ontario municipalities, Guelph has a very vibrant downtown which brings with it some challenges.
Marty Williams, executive director of the Downtown Guelph Business Association, said his members have specifically asked for a greater police presence.
"They are very welcome. There's some things that only the police can do," Williams said. "The visibility a uniformed officer can provide is invaluable."
Police Chief Gord Cobey used one of his favourite mottos: "undersell and overdeliver" in describing the program.
He said metrics, statistics and follow up analysis in September will determine where the program goes after six months.
"The metrics show that you are safe. But do you feel safe?" he said.
