Dauphin launches downtown patrol pilot program

The City of Dauphin has hired a private security company to patrol through downtown streets to enhance public safety and increase law enforcement visibility.

Patrol officers from Winnipeg-based Classify Security Group started conducting foot patrols through the downtown core, Vermillion Park and the Dauphin Recreation Complex regularly on Tuesday. The staff will report issues to various departments and agencies in the community.

The pilot program will last six months.

“Residents and businesses have told us they want to see a greater visible presence in the community, and this pilot responds directly to that feedback,” Mayor David Bosiak said. “This initiative represents another important step in our ongoing efforts to improve safety and the overall experience in our downtown.”

The patrol officers are meant to be complementary to the work of RCMP and emergency services, the city said.

In a statement to the Sun, Dauphin RCMP Sgt. Andrew Seeley said the additional security presence is welcome.

“Improving public safety in the City of Dauphin is a goal the RCMP shares with municipal leaders. Our officers look forward to working with the city’s safety patrol officers as part of ongoing efforts to make the city’s downtown a safer place to visit, shop and enjoy for everyone.”

More security is needed, said Dauphin’s Almost New Store general manager Janie Galloway. But she says the city should have hired from inside the community, and thinks the security staff will create frustration in Dauphin.

“We’re going to bring someone from Winnipeg in to secure our town when we have people looking for jobs?” she said. “I don’t think we need a big company like that. It’s going to freak our town out.”

Galloway said she believes community members may become frustrated with the patrol for that reason. She said locals should have been prioritized for the security jobs — and organizations like Dauphin’s Citizens On Patrol are an example of local efforts that could have been expanded.

“They walk around and they patrol our town. They don’t get paid. Why don’t we look into the people that are doing it for nothing for the past three years?” she said. “Let’s try hiring from our own community, our own town, before we need to go looking in Winnipeg for any security of any kind.”

A volunteer of the local citizens patrol group told the Sun he personally does not want to be paid for the work he does. But he said more security is needed in Dauphin, and that businesses will benefit.

“I think it will make the volunteers feel a little more secure when they are out there, if there are people being paid to do that work,” he said. “Any more security is always welcome.”

The volunteer added that professionals will be more visible. The volunteer declined to offer his name for print, saying he could become a target of crime in the small community if his name was printed publicly as an assistant of law enforcement.

He noted, however, that the volunteer group is sometimes difficult to keep full. The volunteer patrol runs two or three times a week. Due to the summer vacation season, there are less members active — it’s also difficult to keep enough volunteers to run the program.

“Sometimes there is no citizens on patrol, like for maybe a week or two, you know, depending on the availability of the volunteers, and so having a paid security here in the community would be welcomed more than not.”

As the patrol program proceeds, the City of Dauphin will monitor activity and gather feedback from community members including businesses, residents, community partners and law enforcement, the city said. It is part of the city’s community safety and well-being strategy.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com