Safewalk program eyed for downtown

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This article was published 10/05/2025 (247 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Safewalk program could be initiated in Brandon to help make people feel more comfortable downtown, says Brandon Police Service Chief Tyler Bates.

It’s one idea that came out of meetings BPS hosted over the last two months with people who live and work downtown, as the police service tries to come up with a downtown safety strategy.

“We’re talking about a Safewalk program that our cadets are involved with,” Bates said. “For example, if you were at work downtown and you felt a level of insecurity with respect to that walk to your vehicle, you could contact a cadet to make sure that you have a safe and secure escort.”

BPS held four consultations — with social agencies, downtown businesses, residents and law enforcement.

“We had good dialogue and lots of creative, proactive solutions that I think can make a difference,” said Bates.

The safety strategy is being created in response to calls for more police officers in the downtown core because of an increase in violent incidents.

More than a third of the calls that Brandon police officers respond to are in the downtown core, Bates told the Sun.

Incidents in recent months include the assault in January of a 67-year-old man, who was hit in the face with a baseball bat on the corner of Rosser Avenue and Seventh Street in broad daylight. On March 1, a woman was beaten up and robbed by four teenagers outside The Town Centre. And on March 11, a woman died after being assaulted near a downtown drop-in centre, which subsequently closed.

“Everybody wants a downtown they can be proud of that is safe, secure and hospitable, where businesses can thrive,” Bates said.

“There are contributions that we can make, and there are contributions that others can make within the downtown environment to enhance the experience from a hospitality and a safety perspective. And we want that to be the reality in Brandon,” he said.

The next step in creating the safety strategy, he added, is to take all the ideas and feedback and hold sessions in smaller groups, so people can decide which items are feasible and actionable.

Of all the feedback that Emmy Sanderson said she has received from downtown businesses, the No. 1 request is for “a more visible police presence,” said Sanderson, the executive director of the Brandon Downtown BIZ.

“We had 35 businesses at our session,” Sanderson said. “I invited more, but not everyone was able to attend. But overall, the businesses felt good about being heard. Just that feeling of support and knowing that there’s action being taken to support them is a big deal.”

Sanderson said she also heard suggestions for the city to add security cameras, more lights, additional security and “beautification of the downtown.”

Tucked into a 108-year-old building on Ninth Street between Pacific and Princess avenues is Brandon General Museum and Archives, with its administrator, Keith Waterfield.

Waterfield attended the business meeting, which he said was “quite positive,” adding that people left feeling like they could “enact change.”

“One of the things I was really happy with that came up was beautification and having pride on your front door and front steps, Waterfield said.

“And the idea got floated around for more murals and public art projects, which I think is wonderful. We can always add more.

“We could also touch up and restore some of those ghost signs that we see at the top of the buildings — those are the faded advertisements from original businesses,” he said.

“As cliché as it sounds, the downtown is the heartbeat of a city, and Brandon’s downtown core was the centre of the beginnings of everything, like the original city hall, the Prince Edward Hotel and Princess Park.”

Bates said he hoped the last of the meetings will be wrapped up in June, but wasn’t able to say when the final strategy will be released.

“It’s not something that will be one and done,” he said.

“Once we have a strategy, and once we have ideas in place, we’re hoping to have a measurable impact. So we will look at the reality three months, six months, nine months from now and ask, ‘How’s it going?’

“That’s something that we’ll continue to monitor and measure. We’ll work with community participants to see if we need to adjust in terms of some of the initiatives that we’ve implemented.”

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