Guelph Police dedicating more resources to downtown public safety initiative

The Guelph Police Service is planning to dedicate more resources to ensuring public safety in the city’s downtown area as part of an ongoing initiative.

In a news release, police said the downtown core has had the highest number of reported drug poisoning incidents compared to any other neighbourhood in the city.

To address the growing needs in the area, police have deployed more community resource officers to the area with the assistance of a Canadian Mental Health Association mental health worker.

They said, in the last six months, officers have reported more than 600 interactions with at least 100 people.

Since the beginning of 2023, police have completed at least 35 trafficking investigations leading to 80 arrests and more than 460 charges.

However, police acknowledge problems persist in the area.

“Over the last, I would say, several years, but certainly more and more in recent months, we continue to have the public telling us that they do not feel safe in our downtown,” Guelph Police Service Chief Gord Cobey told CTV News.

“So we’re trying to navigate the support we want to provide to those struggling, our most vulnerable, as well as address our duty to support our community and address their concerns,” he added.

Cobey said this is an independent initiative from the police.

“We are not being directed by the city. We are being responsive to the concerns of the community.”

Police said the issue is complex and they will continue working with mental health professionals to try to offer help to those who need it.

“This is a staged approach. This isn’t a ‘we’re going to arrest our way out of the situation,’” Guelph Police Inspector Andrew Goody said. “But for every opportunity we have to engage with somebody who’s in this community, we can provide them those referrals and those supports.

Police said additional officers will be dedicated to the downtown area for the next several weeks to address the concerns. They add where grounds exist, arrests will be made and drugs will be seized.