Fredericton's use of private security guards downtown worked, says city staffer

A pilot project that saw private security guards hired to patrol Fredericton's downtown and multi-use trails was a success and should be funded again next year, says the city hall employee who oversaw the program.

Brad Cameron said business owners reported the downtown felt cleaner and safer, and that the Fredericton Police Force had fewer calls for some types of crime this year compared to last.

"I think the project has been a success," he said, speaking to councillors on the city's public safety committee Tuesday.

"[We] accomplished a lot of what we set out to do, not without some challenges ... Some of these issues are really difficult and persist. Core issues of addiction and mental health remain."

Last year, Cameron, the city's assistant director of safety services, proposed the city spend $600,000 on the project to create what he called a community safety services unit.

Made up of private security guards, the unit was to patrol the city from May to November, between the hours of 6 a.m. and 1 a.m., daily.

The pilot was spurred by a series of community engagement sessions, which heard concerns from residents about petty theft, graffiti and a general sense of a lack of safety downtown and on the city's trails.

Councillors approved the funding, though it was met by some criticism as being a "move along" project that would unfairly target the city's homeless population.

With the pilot project winding down, and with budget deliberations for next year underway, Cameron presented an update.

He said the number of reports about graffiti spiked to 30 in May — the month the pilot started — and steadily declined to less than five in each of the following three months. 

Calls to police for disturbances, indecent acts, loitering, mischief or property damage, trespassing, and unwanted persons totalled 635 between April and August 2022, he said.

For the same period this year there was a decrease, with 447 calls for those issues in total.

Cameron said while the officers from the unit were also meant to educate trail users on proper etiquette and safety, most of their time got taken up by responding to homeless tent encampments.

Officers tried to not just move people along, he said, but to connect them with outreach services when possible.