Police say they have few tools to deal with those 'socializing' near outreach centre in Charlottetown

Charlottetown's Police Chief says it's "disappointing" to hear people saying they are worried about their safety living in the eastern end of the city, where the provincial Community Outreach Centre and emergency overnight shelter recently put down roots.

At a meeting last week, about 150 people came out to talk about what they consider dramatic changes to their neighbourhood.

Some have found people sleeping in their backyards. Others see needles and other drug paraphernalia discarded on their properties. Some say it's making them nervous about walking on a popular trail near their homes. 

"The outreach centre in that part of the city and the homeless shelter has caused an impact," Chief Brad MacConnell told Wayne Thibodeau on CBC Radio's Island Morning. "It's our job to try to minimize that impact, and I think over the last year, we have done a pretty good job at doing that." 

Since the provincial government moved the Community Outreach Centre from the curling club on Euston Street to property it owns on Park Street this spring, MacConnell said calls from city residents are down. He said police remain committed to providing "highly visible, highly accessible police services in that area." 

Police said they've been taking steps to address residents' ongoing concerns, but they're facing a challenge from one group in particular. 

"There is a small group of individuals that are causing more disruption and impact than others," MacConnell said.

Those people are not there to seek services at the shelter or the outreach centre, but rather are "just there to socialize," he said.

"We are focusing on trying to minimize the impact of that smaller group, and that has been a challenge. There are few mechanisms to help us deal with that group… that small group of people that are causing a disproportional amount of impact, " he said. 

MacConnell said he has been working as a member of the premier's task force to improve services for Islanders with complex issues, and so far he has not come up with much — except perhaps an origin story for some of these people. 

He has been going to schools the last few months talking to principals, hearing about unprecedented levels of anxiety and behavioural issues in kids.  

"These kids aren't on drugs or they're not homeless — yet — but we have to be mindful that they could be," he said. "We have to focus on our youth and find a [way] to help them build resilience."

MacConnell said police have compassion for those with complex mental health and addiction issues that keep them in a cycle of poverty and crime, but added: "We need to find solutions for that demographic."

He said it is frustrating for officers to deal with the same people day after day and not be able to break through, partly because police must follow the rules set out in the Criminal Code of Canada and respect human rights laws, and are themselves guided by the Police Act.