Downtown businesses raise concerns after weekend stabbing

Pit Stop Liquor owner Robin James wants see change in the downtown after a summer full of criminal activity. A stabbing in front of her 6th Ave. store interrupted business hours Saturday, leaving her employees shaken. James says her frustrations with safety and security are at an all time high.

“We have to double staff. We can’t have a single staff there on their own past a certain time,” said James. “We have a great security system there and we also have a panic button that alerts 911 immediately.”

The LRPS’s downtown policing unit consists of six members patrolling Lethbridge’s core.

“They walk or bike through downtown just to address that things are safe, address any issues they come across, to identify any criminal activity and also identify anyone that is homeless or has significant needs and try to hook them up with community services,” said Sgt. Tiffany Housworth of the Downtown Policing Unit.

But those who work downtown feel it’s not enough.

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Some downtown business owners reached their breaking point long before this weekend’s violent incident,  outsourcing the problem to private security companies.

Able Dental Group, hired a security guard last year, after patients began calling the office saying they couldn’t enter the building for their appointment, fearful of groups making the business front a hangout spot.

“It was just kind of scary, it was unnerving, it was unsettling,” said downtown employee Betty Lynn-Benson.

The Downtown Policing Unit says there are issues in every large city and Lethbridge is no exception. But downtown business owners say they just want a larger police presence.

“Unfortunately there just isn’t enough of them, and they’re not there seven days a week,” said James. “They can only do so much when they’re there and we need them more often.”

The victim of the stabbing sustained minor injuries.  22-year-old Carson Small Eyes, of Lethbridge, has been charged with multiple assault charges, and possession of a dangerous weapon.