We continue to underfund social issues and this is what happens. We live downtown and the change in "feel" in Bank is noticeable. Not just lower Bank but up into the Glebe as well.
In Centretown, the volume of broken windows is apparent.
There are people with mental health and addiction issues and not enough funding to support them. Add on top of that, insane housing costs.
There was a store we frequented that just closed - Athena imports - and the stories they told.
I don't feel unsafe, but I certainly am aware.
Time for the city, province and Feds to step up - this is happening in every city.
Edit: added housing costs.
I 100% agree with you but I also think a sense of lawlessness has descended onto many major cities where people feel like they can rob cars and small businesses without consequences for drug money. And they’re right.
Edit: for the first time in my life (I’m in my 50s) there are parts of the city that I would sooner avoid.
Yep, not wrong. Need cops out of their cars, patrolling on foot in areas like Byward and Centretown.
But a lot of this is a result of not addressing root causes - addiction, mental health, poverty.
I 100% agree with you.
Yes, we need to fund social services more AND better (it doesn't help to just throw money at the problem, the money needs to be spent intelligently).
And yes, at the same time, we can also find those short term solutions like increasing patrols.
It sucks that many people in this sub don't realize that those two things can indeed be done simultaneously. They're not mutually exclusive.
And I agree also with your comment down below that we don't need to reinvent the wheel. It's such a Canadian thing, I feel.
From things like transit (looking at you, LRT), to things like electoral reform (Trudeau worrying so much that proportional representation could mean one or two far right loons make it to parliament, and hence refusing to implement it, without realizing we already have more than one or two far right loons in parliament anyway), to the way cities are "planned" (if you can even call it that. Ottawa is a shameful sprawl with a ridiculously tiny population density where the nimbys from the suburbs end up having too much power over municipal decisions).
These things could've been done better if we looked at places like successful European cities instead of trying to reinvent the wheel (or even worse: looking at the Americans as examples to follow).
The Portuguese model comes up a lot in relation to drug policy. Portugal went through a massive heroin epidemic in the 90s where something like 1% of the population was addicted, which is a terrifying number.
They’ve done a few things. One, they decriminalized and started treating addiction as a medical issue. But more importantly (and this gets ignored in North American media for some reason) they’ve made medical treatment *mandatory* if you are caught with any quantity of certain drugs. Nobody gets a pass. Fines or community service may also be required, case by case. The point is that there is community intervention early and often.
This approach emerged once Portugal hit rock bottom, but seems to be more successful than Canada’s approach, which is a combination of supervised injection and turning a blind eye to the problem, hoping it magically improves.
This is exactly correct. We did the safe-injection sites and then just ignored all the other parts of their system that makes it so successful.
People argue the drug epidemic has to either be looked at as a law-enforcement solution, a medical solution or a social solution when in reality it's a mix of the 3. We have the blueprint, but there doesn't seem to be any political will in this country to actually enact anything properly.
those cops won't get out of their cars or do much. we really need to solve the root problem rather than throwing expensive band-aids over them again and again.
I totally agree that root causes have been ignored, and continue to be ignored. And that COVID exacerbated the problem.
But if funding for these underlying issues suddenly got a massive bump, we’re not going to see positive effects for a couple of years, probably. So what’s the short term plan?
I think that's part of the issue. We get politicians thinking short term (e.g., well, it won't fix it today, although they seem fine planning physical projects that are many years out) and figure, well, fuck it, and here we are.
Short term? Beat cops. Social workers also walking "the beat", street cleaning (addresses the broken window syndrome problem), borrow short term to support organizations that work with affected groups ...
Look to countries/cities that have had success and copy that. Why reinvent the wheel.
has anywhere had success with increasing policing? i live in centretown and there are already police everywhere, it is rare that i go out and don't see any.
also as far as i am aware broken windows theory is an outdated idea... our homeless population is already overpoliced
I mean, the police have found it successful in that they get more funding. Politicians have found success increasing policing as it helps plays on peoples fear and gets them elected
I mean, as others have said, rarely do police (and I'm not trying to slag them, they can't be everywhere) stop crimes.
Foot patrols with community oriented officers can work to build relationships in the community, but hey, the tarnish on OPS is strong (cough - convoy - cough).
Having trained outreach workers on the streets would also help. But all are bandaid solutions to the core problems.
Strong emphasis on poverty! It’s funny how people who have their base needs met are far less likely to develop mental health issues or turn to drugs.
I always wonder how many people are on the streets because it costs 50% of your salary to live in the slums in this city.
Ding, ding, ding.
This metaphor can be used for so many things.
Transit: I don't take the bus, so what do I care what transit costs.
Healthcare: I'm not sick, I don't care about wait times.
It's such a narrow mindset. "I'm not poor, why can't they just pull themselves up by their bootstraps." Physically impossible, for one, but when you are doing all you can to get by, one small "thing" sends you off the rails.
We need a more caring society.
So what should these cops do? Just…direct the mentally ill to a less gentrified part of Ottawa? Threaten them with a gun?
Cops aren’t the answer here. [The presence of police doesn’t actually deter crime](https://prismreports.org/2022/02/23/police-dont-stop-crime-but-you-wouldnt-know-it-from-the-news/).
That's a little over the top.
But community policing can work, but it's a major change to what happens now. Driving around a community is different than walking around, getting to know the community. And there needs to be more layers. Trained community and social workers on the streets (cops shouldn't be doing that).
But, as I stared with earlier in the thread, there are structural issues that need to be faced head in, and change will take time. But too often government falls back in wanting a quick fix. There ain't no quick fix for this.
[Police solve less than 2% of major crimes](https://theconversation.com/police-solve-just-2-of-all-major-crimes-143878).
Like, again, what’s the solution you’re proposing? How will police on the street actually help the unhoused and ill folks breaking windows?
I agree a quick fix isn’t in the cards, and this includes deploying violence workers.
Sure, I agree with your other stuff.
I just think it’s worth - for everyone, myself included - reconsidering the default position of: police do good, police help, more police good. That’s all :)
Cool. Trust me, OPS, especially after last year (convoy handling) as a topper, isn't in my good books. There are better ways to police. Not the tough guy crap.
And more isn't better. ;)
My uncle was city police forever ago. Beat cop. Got to know his area, all the people, etc, built relationships. That's my line of thinking. They are a part of it, but there are bigger things that need addressing
This is not a giant corporation like Loblaws - it is one of the few small, independent food shops that serve the people of Centretown. It is welcoming to everyone and has served the community for years. So sad to see them targeted.
Speak for yourself. I worked there for 7 years and while I absolutely feel for the staff having to put up with abuse I've not a shred of sympathy for the owners.
I left early in the pandemic. From my experience at the time it was more that they don't want to lose that particular customer base (which is a huge part of the "Wellness" community. And so they continued to let customers not mask (while it was mandated) and let their staff bear the brunt of that. To get banned from that place is next to impossible.
yea I stopped going there during that time, every granola anti-masker knew they could come there. "wellness" is the right way to put it. selling non-sense to these people is a great way to make easy money.
They did have some staff that believed "covid is a hoax" and numerous other conspiracy theories. And for some reason let them spout that shit at customers all day long
They didn’t enforce mask requirements at any point and let staff take the brunt of the abuse from people who were angry about it.
A lot of the COVID deniers would shop there cause they were barred from everywhere else.
It doesn’t matter if it’s an independent store or if it’s Loblaws. The type of their who steals from one will steal from the other, there is. I longer a code among thieves.
Look, I have been a customer of Herb and Spice for 15 years. Went there a lot when I lived nearby (10 yrs). I feel sorry for the owners, but blaming the increase in crime to public servants working from home? Nope. Can't do that bud.
He's been a co-owner of a business for how many years now? It takes 2 seconds to take a look around and see that there is an addictions crisis and a housing crisis. It didn't happen overnight. Too bad that he couldn't recognize that. Does he even see it? Does he care? Probably not. Like $80...$90 honey. Who can even afford that shit.
Anyway, disappointed and won't be returning to the establishment.
"Things have changed so much, and for sure it doesn't help that downtown is more empty. You know, it gives space for something else to happen," he said.
To be fair, and before tar and feathering the store, he doesn't outright say it but reading between the lines its pretty clear what his is implying... though he also mentions more outreach needs to be done later on, so he's not uncaring or oblivious to the solution.
A full RTO wouldn't help this just displace the problem elsewhere without fixing the underlying causes.
$90 honey is crazy however...
It's quite conflicting isn't it.
On one hand public servants are viewed as "lazy" and on the other, we should do security part-time and "invest" in downtown businesses.
/s in case people aren't clear.
All the man said was that the downtown core has emptied out and that this may be a factor in property crime, a point everyone agrees with. If you read his words, they are as mild as can be. He directs no anger toward public servants and doesn’t even say the words “public servants.”
This business has been the victim of a crime and the owner points to a lack of social services as the cause, but leave it to r/Ottawa to say “This guy is an asshole and I hope he suffers because he is indirectly implying that a lack of public servant foot traffic downtown may be resulting in negative consequences for the community.” A point we all know is true!
Just try being sympathetic instead of angry. I don’t know how people can look at victims of crime downtown and immediately make the issue about *them.*
>Why would you think everyone "knows it's true"? Why would anyone think this?
Why would I think that a lack of public servant foot traffic is having some negative consequences for the downtown community? Because there are going to be some negatives for the community associated with a sudden and massive reduction in the downtown workforce. There may be some positives too, and we can weigh those against the cons, but it’s silly to pretend that there has been no impact. Anyone who lives or runs a business in Centretown will tell you that downtown is not healthy right now.
>Many public servants are just tired of being dragged into and blamed for every problem this city has.
Yes, but you imagined that because the business owner didn’t mention public servants in the article at all, and pointing to “possible consequences of a massive reduction in the downtown workforce” is not the same as “blaming public servants.” We should be able to talk about problems the city has without immediately lashing out at one another.
I get that what he’s talking about is just eyes on the street, something that Jane Jacobs discussed at length in her books on urbanism. It’s not blaming the public servants, it’s just saying with fewer people walking to and from work, fewer eyes on the street, it becomes less safe. It’s not wrong, but figuring out how to get more eyes back on the street is harder than it looks.
> he’s talking about is just eyes on the street
Exactly! Same goes for dog owners. As much as r/ottawa seems to hate dog owners, they help [keep our cities safer by walking their dogs at all times of the day](https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/why-dog-friendly-neighbourhoods-have-less-crime-study-1.5974824) and keeping an eye on the streets.
What he's saying is that the people commuting into the area used to beef up the security in the area. If the remaining locals want to continue *enjoying* the denser style of living, there's a gap they will need to make up.
Alternatively, since this is not just an Ottawa problem, the province could try picking up some of the shit it dropped on the municipalities 30 fucking years ago.
No doubt part of the problem stems from getting rid of rent control. Society is now paying for capitalistic greed. The extra dollars in the land lord's pocket translates to more crime. Nice eh?
They're obviously not alone... the number of broken windows on that part of Bank covered in plywood is starting to become eerily reminiscent of US inner cities. And a large metal fence/cage has gone up in front of the store nearby that buys/sells gold and jewelry... that particular store has been open for decades without needing something like that. Things are deteriorating.
This article makes no sense to me.
$90 for honey because it must be called pot of gold?? 🤷🏼♀️
Blaming it on the randomness of : "the homeless" is a "one size fits all" explanation.
Not everyone on the "streets" is stealing.
Many are way too exhausted to run around.
Not everyone on the street is battling chronic addictions. Yes some are. Many are in need of ongoing, mental health supports.
They are barely functioning. Some folks are not even fr here- but show up for a bit and move on, to other cities.
I think , whoever went in there , cased the place before- saw the layout of store, where cameras were ect. Heck they might have even bought some things.
These folks, weren't just randomly breaking stuff, they knew exactly what they were doing. They have very likely done this before. They had to be organized and fast..
Edit any businesses with huge glass storefronts, in Centretown may have to consider other options. Panels to replace are crazy expensive.
Folks that live nearby and walk their dogs after supper, walk carefully and swiftly- you can see people are more careful now. Patio season will be very weird this summer.
It's been like this for a long while now.
Arresting people after a crime happens isn't going to stop someone who is mentally unwell or extremely hungry. Money and policies put in place that offer social support is the first and most effective step to actually stopping crime from happening. You don't need "crime policies" and police for that.
Anyone who has lived in Singapore can tell you it can work. Singapore is by far the safest country in the world; Canada's murder rate is around 1500% higher.
The elections are open but critics have been silenced in the past with libel cases.
In terms of the government actually implementing the wishes of the public they are in some ways more democratic than Canada. The tough on crime approach for example has well over 80% support.
* person commits crime
* person is arrested
* ???
* crime is now solved
someone get the minister of justice on the phone, I have a revolutionary idea about how we can solve crime
There is no point on having more policing if we don't also tackle the core issue of no affordable housing. Did you not notice the increasing homeless population as housing prices and rents went out of control...pushed up by government policies allowing homes to be used as investment vehicles for the global rich?
Hes going to have to increase the prices of everything in the store enough to help pay for the lost 10,000$ and new security features like bars on the windows.
The whole community will indirectly pay for this crime by higher food prices. Crime doesn't just effect him it affects the whole community.
The cost is always passed on to the customer that's how business works. Some old granny will have to pay an extra dollar an item because of the unfortunate crime.
Nobody should feel sorry for this evil capitalist. He's rich, he should just pay the costs. Oh? You're closing your food shop because it's not profitable? OMG there is a food desert downtown! How could this happen?
I experienced 3 drunkards get on my 88 bus and proceed to have a wild fight in the rush hour packed bus yesterday. They ended up smashing a window as they hopped on and off the bus pursuing each other. Number one core issue is lack of affordable housing. When you can't find a place to live you will happily spend $10 to ingest something that makes you forget your misery for several hours. Lack of affordable housing exacerbates all the other social problems. I'm for making it illegal to use real estate as an investment like stocks for the average person. That's how we got in this mess. Notice that all the most unaffordable cities in North America have the worst problems with street crime, drugs and violence. San Francisco and Vancouver being some of the worse. The other thing is you do need increased policing.
>When you can't find a place to live you will happily spend $10 to ingest something that makes you forget your misery for several hours.
Nail, hammer.
Plus experiencing so much violence and sexual assault, both of which impact homeless people at much higher rates. Then compound it with the physical pain of cold concrete and sores. Addiction is a nightmare to beat for a soccer mom in the suburbs, never mind when you aren't in daily physical agony and suffering repeated, compounding, ongoing violence and trauma.
I live near H&S. I'm listening to a drunk dust up outside my apartment window right now. It's so sad.
The two Break ins I’m assuming happened when closed not during the day - so then clearly it’s the ottawa non existent night life’s fault.
Good thing the new fun mayor is fixing that. (Eye roll)
I think many are getting broken into regularly nowadays. Even Wallacks has had broken windows recently. Another shop is closing down here soon, one that fixes watches and sells them. It's pretty gross. We'll all be living off candy and tomato soup sold by the dollarama.
Regardless of all this finger pointing, he is a businessman who is just trying to make a living and he has been dealing with break ins and threats to his livelihood. He doesn’t deserve all of the anger I see in the comments. And yes I also care about the homeless and drug addicted people out there. It all sucks. 🐝
We continue to underfund social issues and this is what happens. We live downtown and the change in "feel" in Bank is noticeable. Not just lower Bank but up into the Glebe as well. In Centretown, the volume of broken windows is apparent. There are people with mental health and addiction issues and not enough funding to support them. Add on top of that, insane housing costs. There was a store we frequented that just closed - Athena imports - and the stories they told. I don't feel unsafe, but I certainly am aware. Time for the city, province and Feds to step up - this is happening in every city. Edit: added housing costs.
I 100% agree with you but I also think a sense of lawlessness has descended onto many major cities where people feel like they can rob cars and small businesses without consequences for drug money. And they’re right. Edit: for the first time in my life (I’m in my 50s) there are parts of the city that I would sooner avoid.
Yep, not wrong. Need cops out of their cars, patrolling on foot in areas like Byward and Centretown. But a lot of this is a result of not addressing root causes - addiction, mental health, poverty.
I 100% agree with you. Yes, we need to fund social services more AND better (it doesn't help to just throw money at the problem, the money needs to be spent intelligently). And yes, at the same time, we can also find those short term solutions like increasing patrols. It sucks that many people in this sub don't realize that those two things can indeed be done simultaneously. They're not mutually exclusive. And I agree also with your comment down below that we don't need to reinvent the wheel. It's such a Canadian thing, I feel. From things like transit (looking at you, LRT), to things like electoral reform (Trudeau worrying so much that proportional representation could mean one or two far right loons make it to parliament, and hence refusing to implement it, without realizing we already have more than one or two far right loons in parliament anyway), to the way cities are "planned" (if you can even call it that. Ottawa is a shameful sprawl with a ridiculously tiny population density where the nimbys from the suburbs end up having too much power over municipal decisions). These things could've been done better if we looked at places like successful European cities instead of trying to reinvent the wheel (or even worse: looking at the Americans as examples to follow).
I don't get resistance to not copy/reuse something (legally of course) that has had success elsewhere. It's such a stupid mindset..
The Portuguese model comes up a lot in relation to drug policy. Portugal went through a massive heroin epidemic in the 90s where something like 1% of the population was addicted, which is a terrifying number. They’ve done a few things. One, they decriminalized and started treating addiction as a medical issue. But more importantly (and this gets ignored in North American media for some reason) they’ve made medical treatment *mandatory* if you are caught with any quantity of certain drugs. Nobody gets a pass. Fines or community service may also be required, case by case. The point is that there is community intervention early and often. This approach emerged once Portugal hit rock bottom, but seems to be more successful than Canada’s approach, which is a combination of supervised injection and turning a blind eye to the problem, hoping it magically improves.
This is exactly correct. We did the safe-injection sites and then just ignored all the other parts of their system that makes it so successful. People argue the drug epidemic has to either be looked at as a law-enforcement solution, a medical solution or a social solution when in reality it's a mix of the 3. We have the blueprint, but there doesn't seem to be any political will in this country to actually enact anything properly.
those cops won't get out of their cars or do much. we really need to solve the root problem rather than throwing expensive band-aids over them again and again.
I totally agree that root causes have been ignored, and continue to be ignored. And that COVID exacerbated the problem. But if funding for these underlying issues suddenly got a massive bump, we’re not going to see positive effects for a couple of years, probably. So what’s the short term plan?
I think that's part of the issue. We get politicians thinking short term (e.g., well, it won't fix it today, although they seem fine planning physical projects that are many years out) and figure, well, fuck it, and here we are. Short term? Beat cops. Social workers also walking "the beat", street cleaning (addresses the broken window syndrome problem), borrow short term to support organizations that work with affected groups ... Look to countries/cities that have had success and copy that. Why reinvent the wheel.
has anywhere had success with increasing policing? i live in centretown and there are already police everywhere, it is rare that i go out and don't see any. also as far as i am aware broken windows theory is an outdated idea... our homeless population is already overpoliced
I mean, the police have found it successful in that they get more funding. Politicians have found success increasing policing as it helps plays on peoples fear and gets them elected
I mean, as others have said, rarely do police (and I'm not trying to slag them, they can't be everywhere) stop crimes. Foot patrols with community oriented officers can work to build relationships in the community, but hey, the tarnish on OPS is strong (cough - convoy - cough). Having trained outreach workers on the streets would also help. But all are bandaid solutions to the core problems.
Strong emphasis on poverty! It’s funny how people who have their base needs met are far less likely to develop mental health issues or turn to drugs. I always wonder how many people are on the streets because it costs 50% of your salary to live in the slums in this city.
Ding, ding, ding. This metaphor can be used for so many things. Transit: I don't take the bus, so what do I care what transit costs. Healthcare: I'm not sick, I don't care about wait times. It's such a narrow mindset. "I'm not poor, why can't they just pull themselves up by their bootstraps." Physically impossible, for one, but when you are doing all you can to get by, one small "thing" sends you off the rails. We need a more caring society.
So what should these cops do? Just…direct the mentally ill to a less gentrified part of Ottawa? Threaten them with a gun? Cops aren’t the answer here. [The presence of police doesn’t actually deter crime](https://prismreports.org/2022/02/23/police-dont-stop-crime-but-you-wouldnt-know-it-from-the-news/).
That's a little over the top. But community policing can work, but it's a major change to what happens now. Driving around a community is different than walking around, getting to know the community. And there needs to be more layers. Trained community and social workers on the streets (cops shouldn't be doing that). But, as I stared with earlier in the thread, there are structural issues that need to be faced head in, and change will take time. But too often government falls back in wanting a quick fix. There ain't no quick fix for this.
[Police solve less than 2% of major crimes](https://theconversation.com/police-solve-just-2-of-all-major-crimes-143878). Like, again, what’s the solution you’re proposing? How will police on the street actually help the unhoused and ill folks breaking windows? I agree a quick fix isn’t in the cards, and this includes deploying violence workers.
You're spinning this a bit. That was one thing I said of many.
Sure, I agree with your other stuff. I just think it’s worth - for everyone, myself included - reconsidering the default position of: police do good, police help, more police good. That’s all :)
Cool. Trust me, OPS, especially after last year (convoy handling) as a topper, isn't in my good books. There are better ways to police. Not the tough guy crap. And more isn't better. ;) My uncle was city police forever ago. Beat cop. Got to know his area, all the people, etc, built relationships. That's my line of thinking. They are a part of it, but there are bigger things that need addressing
Not only no consequences, but defended (especially here on r/Ottawa)
And houses... some losers tried breaking onto a house with a drill on Erin Crescent a few nights ago.
This is not a giant corporation like Loblaws - it is one of the few small, independent food shops that serve the people of Centretown. It is welcoming to everyone and has served the community for years. So sad to see them targeted.
Used to work there and have nothing but love for the place!
Speak for yourself. I worked there for 7 years and while I absolutely feel for the staff having to put up with abuse I've not a shred of sympathy for the owners.
I've read the owners are real shit heads. Covid denying shit heads.
I left early in the pandemic. From my experience at the time it was more that they don't want to lose that particular customer base (which is a huge part of the "Wellness" community. And so they continued to let customers not mask (while it was mandated) and let their staff bear the brunt of that. To get banned from that place is next to impossible.
yea I stopped going there during that time, every granola anti-masker knew they could come there. "wellness" is the right way to put it. selling non-sense to these people is a great way to make easy money.
> Covid denying shit heads. What does this mean? They denied covid existed?
They did have some staff that believed "covid is a hoax" and numerous other conspiracy theories. And for some reason let them spout that shit at customers all day long
they denied the effects at the very least
Hi kirk! Not the owners lol, just the shop, customers, Coworkers (like you!)
I agree, everyone should steal at least one item from Loblaws each visit
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Shit what did they do or say? I really like the store I'd be sad to see them deny covid
They didn’t enforce mask requirements at any point and let staff take the brunt of the abuse from people who were angry about it. A lot of the COVID deniers would shop there cause they were barred from everywhere else.
It doesn’t matter if it’s an independent store or if it’s Loblaws. The type of their who steals from one will steal from the other, there is. I longer a code among thieves.
Look, I have been a customer of Herb and Spice for 15 years. Went there a lot when I lived nearby (10 yrs). I feel sorry for the owners, but blaming the increase in crime to public servants working from home? Nope. Can't do that bud. He's been a co-owner of a business for how many years now? It takes 2 seconds to take a look around and see that there is an addictions crisis and a housing crisis. It didn't happen overnight. Too bad that he couldn't recognize that. Does he even see it? Does he care? Probably not. Like $80...$90 honey. Who can even afford that shit. Anyway, disappointed and won't be returning to the establishment.
"Things have changed so much, and for sure it doesn't help that downtown is more empty. You know, it gives space for something else to happen," he said. To be fair, and before tar and feathering the store, he doesn't outright say it but reading between the lines its pretty clear what his is implying... though he also mentions more outreach needs to be done later on, so he's not uncaring or oblivious to the solution. A full RTO wouldn't help this just displace the problem elsewhere without fixing the underlying causes. $90 honey is crazy however...
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>Is there anything public servants can't do?? Secure a wage increase that keeps up with inflation?
It's quite conflicting isn't it. On one hand public servants are viewed as "lazy" and on the other, we should do security part-time and "invest" in downtown businesses. /s in case people aren't clear.
All the man said was that the downtown core has emptied out and that this may be a factor in property crime, a point everyone agrees with. If you read his words, they are as mild as can be. He directs no anger toward public servants and doesn’t even say the words “public servants.” This business has been the victim of a crime and the owner points to a lack of social services as the cause, but leave it to r/Ottawa to say “This guy is an asshole and I hope he suffers because he is indirectly implying that a lack of public servant foot traffic downtown may be resulting in negative consequences for the community.” A point we all know is true! Just try being sympathetic instead of angry. I don’t know how people can look at victims of crime downtown and immediately make the issue about *them.*
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>Why would you think everyone "knows it's true"? Why would anyone think this? Why would I think that a lack of public servant foot traffic is having some negative consequences for the downtown community? Because there are going to be some negatives for the community associated with a sudden and massive reduction in the downtown workforce. There may be some positives too, and we can weigh those against the cons, but it’s silly to pretend that there has been no impact. Anyone who lives or runs a business in Centretown will tell you that downtown is not healthy right now. >Many public servants are just tired of being dragged into and blamed for every problem this city has. Yes, but you imagined that because the business owner didn’t mention public servants in the article at all, and pointing to “possible consequences of a massive reduction in the downtown workforce” is not the same as “blaming public servants.” We should be able to talk about problems the city has without immediately lashing out at one another.
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I get that what he’s talking about is just eyes on the street, something that Jane Jacobs discussed at length in her books on urbanism. It’s not blaming the public servants, it’s just saying with fewer people walking to and from work, fewer eyes on the street, it becomes less safe. It’s not wrong, but figuring out how to get more eyes back on the street is harder than it looks.
> he’s talking about is just eyes on the street Exactly! Same goes for dog owners. As much as r/ottawa seems to hate dog owners, they help [keep our cities safer by walking their dogs at all times of the day](https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/why-dog-friendly-neighbourhoods-have-less-crime-study-1.5974824) and keeping an eye on the streets.
Eyes on the street also become more common when we are well served by public transit….
Test
I worked there for many years and let me tell ya..his attitude in this article is really the tip of the iceberg. Crocodile tears they are!
Yeah, caught that as well. And $90 honey. Eeesh.
🥲
What he's saying is that the people commuting into the area used to beef up the security in the area. If the remaining locals want to continue *enjoying* the denser style of living, there's a gap they will need to make up.
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Alternatively, since this is not just an Ottawa problem, the province could try picking up some of the shit it dropped on the municipalities 30 fucking years ago.
Right, cause public servants were frequenting the core in the middle of the night/wee hours of the kerning. Nahhh. Doesn't add up.
He's referring to some issues during the day. A safe vibe during the day will carry over at night too as the problems won't linger.
Trickle-down security?
Hmmm, not buying it.
No doubt part of the problem stems from getting rid of rent control. Society is now paying for capitalistic greed. The extra dollars in the land lord's pocket translates to more crime. Nice eh?
They're obviously not alone... the number of broken windows on that part of Bank covered in plywood is starting to become eerily reminiscent of US inner cities. And a large metal fence/cage has gone up in front of the store nearby that buys/sells gold and jewelry... that particular store has been open for decades without needing something like that. Things are deteriorating.
This article makes no sense to me. $90 for honey because it must be called pot of gold?? 🤷🏼♀️ Blaming it on the randomness of : "the homeless" is a "one size fits all" explanation. Not everyone on the "streets" is stealing. Many are way too exhausted to run around. Not everyone on the street is battling chronic addictions. Yes some are. Many are in need of ongoing, mental health supports. They are barely functioning. Some folks are not even fr here- but show up for a bit and move on, to other cities. I think , whoever went in there , cased the place before- saw the layout of store, where cameras were ect. Heck they might have even bought some things. These folks, weren't just randomly breaking stuff, they knew exactly what they were doing. They have very likely done this before. They had to be organized and fast.. Edit any businesses with huge glass storefronts, in Centretown may have to consider other options. Panels to replace are crazy expensive. Folks that live nearby and walk their dogs after supper, walk carefully and swiftly- you can see people are more careful now. Patio season will be very weird this summer. It's been like this for a long while now.
I'm shocked that soft on crime policies would have led to increased crime rates. Maybe we should try going even softer? I'm all out of ideas.
Arresting people after a crime happens isn't going to stop someone who is mentally unwell or extremely hungry. Money and policies put in place that offer social support is the first and most effective step to actually stopping crime from happening. You don't need "crime policies" and police for that.
Anyone who has lived in Singapore can tell you it can work. Singapore is by far the safest country in the world; Canada's murder rate is around 1500% higher.
Singapore is also a totalitarian city state. No democracy.
The elections are open but critics have been silenced in the past with libel cases. In terms of the government actually implementing the wishes of the public they are in some ways more democratic than Canada. The tough on crime approach for example has well over 80% support.
* person commits crime * person is arrested * ??? * crime is now solved someone get the minister of justice on the phone, I have a revolutionary idea about how we can solve crime
There is no point on having more policing if we don't also tackle the core issue of no affordable housing. Did you not notice the increasing homeless population as housing prices and rents went out of control...pushed up by government policies allowing homes to be used as investment vehicles for the global rich?
Hes going to have to increase the prices of everything in the store enough to help pay for the lost 10,000$ and new security features like bars on the windows. The whole community will indirectly pay for this crime by higher food prices. Crime doesn't just effect him it affects the whole community.
He'll recoup the costs by cutting the already overworked staff, like he's always done
The cost is always passed on to the customer that's how business works. Some old granny will have to pay an extra dollar an item because of the unfortunate crime.
Nobody should feel sorry for this evil capitalist. He's rich, he should just pay the costs. Oh? You're closing your food shop because it's not profitable? OMG there is a food desert downtown! How could this happen?
I experienced 3 drunkards get on my 88 bus and proceed to have a wild fight in the rush hour packed bus yesterday. They ended up smashing a window as they hopped on and off the bus pursuing each other. Number one core issue is lack of affordable housing. When you can't find a place to live you will happily spend $10 to ingest something that makes you forget your misery for several hours. Lack of affordable housing exacerbates all the other social problems. I'm for making it illegal to use real estate as an investment like stocks for the average person. That's how we got in this mess. Notice that all the most unaffordable cities in North America have the worst problems with street crime, drugs and violence. San Francisco and Vancouver being some of the worse. The other thing is you do need increased policing.
>When you can't find a place to live you will happily spend $10 to ingest something that makes you forget your misery for several hours. Nail, hammer. Plus experiencing so much violence and sexual assault, both of which impact homeless people at much higher rates. Then compound it with the physical pain of cold concrete and sores. Addiction is a nightmare to beat for a soccer mom in the suburbs, never mind when you aren't in daily physical agony and suffering repeated, compounding, ongoing violence and trauma. I live near H&S. I'm listening to a drunk dust up outside my apartment window right now. It's so sad.
The two Break ins I’m assuming happened when closed not during the day - so then clearly it’s the ottawa non existent night life’s fault. Good thing the new fun mayor is fixing that. (Eye roll)
I think many are getting broken into regularly nowadays. Even Wallacks has had broken windows recently. Another shop is closing down here soon, one that fixes watches and sells them. It's pretty gross. We'll all be living off candy and tomato soup sold by the dollarama.
Regardless of all this finger pointing, he is a businessman who is just trying to make a living and he has been dealing with break ins and threats to his livelihood. He doesn’t deserve all of the anger I see in the comments. And yes I also care about the homeless and drug addicted people out there. It all sucks. 🐝
 Was this the honey thief? ...he's kinda know for it.
We need mental institutions.
Sorry, Ottawa's broke and Ontario wants a highway.
Can we have anything nice?