Downtown Lethbridge is in the heart of the city, but it’s also a hot spot for crimes, especially during the warmer months.
“In the past two years, crime has gotten more rampant and we’ve been experiencing quite a bit of shoplifting,” says J.D. Clark, owner of Doug Sports, a family business located on 7th Street south.
“It causes increased worry, but business must go on and life must go on,” Clark added.
It’s not only Clark who has this echoing thought cloud his head when the summer sun shines on the local streets, though, but several other business owners in the downtown area who also experience a spike in criminal activity.
“We have seen an increase in crime as the weather gets nicer,” said Sheva Boire, marketing coordinator with Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone, “especially petty theft and graffiti as well.”
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And these are the issues that the Lethbridge Police Service hopes the new High Engagement Action Team — or HEAT — can help mitigate
“It would be a dedicated number of officers that could address issues that we identify through data,” said Chief of Police Rob Davis. “Hot spots and problem areas and issues of concern, and we could have this team dedicated to responding to those.”
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Already receiving a lot of public support, Davis did add that although this proposed plan will aim to help with crime rates in the city, there’s still only so much police can do.
“The reality is that when we try different initiatives in this city, all we’re really doing is displacing crime,” Davis said. “There’s nothing you can do about that; it’s the same around the world. But what the HEAT team would do is they would be mobile and nimble enough to respond based on where the data is showing us the problem has shifted to.”
This new initiative is still in its conceptual phase and would require additional funding to hire up to six new officers to add to the force. Police are set to present that request to city council during its 2019 budget talks.
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