A report of the virtual Town Hall, Mayor Ashe, Sept 27
Invariably, Town Hall events invite criticisms and critiques. This may be justifiable as the events are public events and the public has the right to comment, be it a criticism or a compliment.
The Town Hall’s theme
This Town Hall focused on the topics of the Durham Police Force and crime in the community and region, excellent topics. Guests included Chief Peter Moreira and 3 officers from the office and detachment, Staff Sargeant Jason Fisher, Acting Detective Gerry Suthers and Acting Sargeant Dave Ricard.
The town hall was an explanation of the operation of the Durham Police Department, aspects relating to crime in the Durham region and the challenges facing the community and the police department.
Crime is not only growing everywhere, including the Durham region, but it is also constantly changing, two factors that make it especially challenging for the police.
Chief Moreira spoke about the various crimes occurring in Durham with an emphasis on its constantly changing features rather than the number of incidents.
Auto theft, a serious concern of residents, is on the rise. The Durham Police are well aware of this crime’s growth and their response is great visibility and patrols in the ‘hotter spots’ in Pickering. Chief Moreira underlined that the public need to greater responsibility in deterring auto theft. The public needs to take precautions such as removing gifts and valuables from the interiors of their cars, parking their cars in very visible areas, at home, parking in the garage if possible, and using Faraday Bags.
Response and reaction to other crimes vary in relation to the crime: social worker assistance and training with mental health incidents, the same for domestic violence. These types of crimes are very challenging and officers are trained in their response but incident occurrences change constantly presenting endless challenges for the responding officers.
When queried about racism on the force, the Chief explained that receive supplemental training regularly throughout the year to update them on recognizing biased crime enforcement and dealing with it appropriately.
Acting sergeant Ricard in response to noisy cars, reinforced that police respond to such incidents as well as they can, particularly in residential neighbourhoods but due to the large number of such incidents, it is very challenging to deal with every instance.
Ricard also dealt with speeding violations throughout the city. School neighbourhoods are a particular worry for the police and they make sure they have a highly visible presence in these areas to discourage speeders. Ricard also explained about speed cameras in use around the city and region with the Mayor underlining that these are not ‘cash grab’ opportunities but rather the city and region aiming to ensure greater security and safety for everyone.
Crimes against seniors were another area of concern in the town hall discussion. Chief Moreira explained that the department has an office that deals with seniors but he emphasized that seniors still needed to educate themselves about fraud and scams to assist the force in helping seniors combat criminal incidents. Seniors should not feel embarrassed about incidents they have experienced. Rather they should report everything to the non-emergency number at the department so the police can monitor and act more effectively.
The guests also urged the public to visit and better inform themselves about the police services by visiting the police online portal. Click the image below:
A particularly informative tool regarding police work is the crime mapping tool: Click –> CRIME MAP.
The officers of the town hall emphasized that the force is very aware of the incidents of crime in the region and that it is constantly working to ensure the public is safe and secure as members of the community. They urged the public to partner with the police in this goal by reporting incidents and as not all incidents need a 911 Emergency response, non-emergency reporting can be done by
phoning 888-579-1520, Ext ‘O’.
The Town Hall was invaluable at showcasing and explaining the operation and presence of the Durham Police in Pickering. Undoubtedly, there will be criticisms of the force no matter what they do or how they operate, but the public should be assured the force is very aware of crime incidents in Durham and is working hard to assure the public of its security and safety.
