Community watch program begins in Fredericton

Fredericton is launching a community watch program to make residents feel safer.

The Fredericton Police Force has announced the launch of a community watch program within the city, hoping to see residents from several neighbourhoods get involved.

Police will act as a support system to the program, promising safety tips, guidance and coordination assistance. But in a release, the Force says the success will depend on residents and communities themselves.

Once a group is formed, the Force says a community meeting will be held where police officers will share further information and answer any questions.

A website has been launched, outlining the program’s details.

Insp. Bobbi Simmons-Beauchamp, who’s in charge of integrated community services and operation support, said Wednesday that seven of the 12 wards have already shown interest in beginning a community watch group.

But they’re hoping for more.

“The community watch really are the eyes and ears in the community to kind of keeping on track of what’s happening in their communities, what’s kind of standing out that maybe shouldn’t be there, something that may seem concerning for them, so that they can bring those concerns to the police,” she said.

The program stems from a recommendation made by the Community Safety Task Force, which has been trying to combat crime through “more active and engaged” initiatives.

The task force was created after demands from the businesses and residents concerned about increasing homelessness, open drug use, gaps in primary and mental health care and a lack of housing supports.

“I think that there has been a general feeling in the community that residents don’t feel as safe as they used to. And so by allowing them to kind of take a bit of ownership in that and building those connections with each other, they’re really partnering with us in helping keeping community safe,” said Simmons-Beauchamp.

Those 47 recommendations were outlined in a report released last year.

Another policing program that’s come from that task force is the community camera registry.

Deputy chief of strategy and administration Frank Levesque says that program has been a success so far. He said about 205 cameras have been voluntarily registered by mostly residents, but also businesses across the city.

“It’s volunteer led. We do not access without their authorization. And it’s an investigative tool that can be very useful for policing in an investigative case,” he said.

Levesque said they’ve already used the program, and it’s proven successful for certain cases.

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