Centretown break-ins spark calls for co-ordinated downtown strategy
Rising crime putting pressure on small businesses, say pair of owners
At least two small business owners in Ottawa's Centretown neighbourhood say their stores were broken into and vandalized overnight Saturday.
"It's never nice to wake up to a phone call from the police," said Jennifer Hegel, co-owner of The Red Apron, a prepared meal shop that's been operating on Gladstone Avenue for nearly 20 years.
Hegel said police called her early Sunday after the shop's alarm was triggered. She was told someone had smashed a window to get in and was asked to come secure the site.
"Our cash drawers had been dumped out onto the floor. They had been smashed open. Stuff had been rummaged through," Hegel said.
"They made a tour through the kitchen and smashed another computer."
'Definitely not the first time'
Just days before, Hegel said she noticed growing disturbances in the area. She and Jessie Duffy, owner of nearby café Arlington Five, met with Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster to raise concerns.
Duffy's shop, just a few blocks away, was also broken into over the weekend.
"It's definitely not the first time," Duffy said. "Whenever there's a window or door smashed, it's coming out of our small business budgets."
Duffy said she feels unprepared to deal with what she sees as worsening social issues in the area.
"I feel like we need all hands on deck," she said. "It'd be great to see Ottawa Public Health involved, more community health centres, more businesses, more city councillors. Everyone needs to be part of this... before our businesses start closing — because we're at risk of that."
Ottawa Police said in a news release Monday that a man in his 30s was arrested Sunday following reports of a break-in that morning on Arlington Avenue.
Police say they believe the man is also responsible for a break-in on Gladstone Avenue. The man has been charged with break-and-enter.
Policing effort has 'knock-on effect,' says councillor
Troster believes efforts to reduce crime in the ByWard Market have pushed more vulnerable people into Centretown.
Last June, Ottawa police launched the CORE (Community Outreach, Response, and Engagement) strategy in a bid to target eight crime "hot spots" in the ByWard Market and surrounding areas.
"The targeted policing in the ByWard Market has had a knock-on effect," Troster said. "We saw a migration of even more troubled people [to Centretown] to access services or just to have a place to hang out.
"We are one downtown ecosystem, and you can't just chase people from one side of the neighbourhood to the other," she added.
Hegel said while she loves the community, it's become increasingly hard to run a business in the area.
"We are really seeing a lot more activity since both the crackdown in the market [and also] the closure of the safe consumption site," Hegel said, referring to the transition of the Somerset West Community Health Centre's site into a homelessness and addiction treatment hub.
"That is driving people onto the streets and into the community to consume and it's definitely not been good for business or for our community."
City-wide approach needed
Troster is calling for a city-wide approach to downtown safety, with services integrated across neighbourhoods.
While the city has secured millions in provincial and federal funding for mental health and addiction services, Troster said demand is still outpacing resources.
"I'm very happy we were able to secure that funding. Now we're doing that scale-up, but it never feels enough or fast enough."
Troster said Centre 507, a 24-hour low-barrier drop-in centre at Bank and Argyle streets, is "completely overwhelmed" and she's advocating for another such facility.
The rise in break-ins, she added, coincides with growing demand for food banks and housing — trends she sees as deeply interconnected.
While there needs to be more visible support on the streets — including outreach workers and community police officers — long-term solutions are important, Troster said, to keep people from turning to theft out of desperation.
"We know it's not enough," she added. "I'm listening to the community to fight for more, and I'm just really sorry this happened to those two wonderful businesses."
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