Safety top of mind at event discussing Regina’s downtown

Patricia Crowe said she’s “seen things get worse” in Regina’s downtown.

Crowe, who has worked downtown for the past two years, said she hears screams from people experiencing severe mental health episodes on the streets while she’s in her office.

“There’s more activity every day,” she said.

Crowe was one of around 60 people who attended an event on Wednesday evening to talk about some of the challenges and improvements that could be made in Regina’s downtown. Around 60 people packed into the central library’s film theatre for the event, hosted by the Regina Public Library and the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District.

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The town-hall style event allowed people to raise questions and concerns about Regina’s downtown to a panel of community leaders, including representatives from the City of Regina, the Regina Police Service, YWCA Regina, the Cornwall Mall and the Regina Street Team.

Around 60 people attended the event on Wednesday evening. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Crowe said she recently gave CPR to a person who went into medical distress while she was out on a coffee run.

“I was really upset, because I didn’t want this person to die,” she said.

There was no naloxone – a fast-acting medication which can temporarily reverse the effects of an opiate overdose – available at any of the buildings nearby, Crowe explained, and security workers were not prepared to deal with the medical event. She said the person was revived after police showed up with a naloxone kit.

Crowe said she felt the event was helpful, with questions answered by panelists about where to access both naloxone and safety training.

Jim Hall said he attended the event because he’s heard about people feeling uneasy spending time downtown.

“It’s not so much as what I have observed, but just what I have heard lately,” he said. “People feeling reluctant, not feeling safe.”

Hall said he was encouraged to hear details about the launch of Regina Police Service’s new alternate response officer program, which is set for this fall.

Six alternate response officers will be deployed in Regina’s downtown with the intent of freeing up regular officers to respond to more urgent calls. The officers will not be armed, and will assist with less-urgent situations.

Some of the answers from Sgt. Laurie Alexander with the Regina Police Service came as a comfort to Hall.

“(It) really brought a sense of relief to me,” he said. “You know that they are actually going to address this problem.”

Alexander said she thought the event went well. She said feedback about the alternate response officer program was welcomed.

“It won’t be perfect right out the gate, but we will learn and grow every single year,” she said.

Alexander said the new officers will provide a form of proactive policing.

“Having that many more bodies out on the street will help decrease crime, will help to make people feel more safe, and then hopefully there will be more people coming downtown,” she said.

Alexander said the officers will start by working four 10-hour shifts from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. for the first eight weeks after they are deployed. The program will launch in October after the Thanksgiving Long Weekend.

“Time will tell if it really makes a difference in Regina,” Hall said.

A similar event will be hosted at 7 p.m. on September 25 at the Regina Public Library’s Central Branch.