ESTEVAN — The Estevan Downtown Business Association (DBA) has been bringing concerns forward about crimes happening in the area and elswhere in the community.
Members of the DBA have met with the Estevan board of police commissioners and Estevan city council recently, as well as Estevan-Big Muddy MLA Lori Carr.
DBA members Peter Sereggela and Laureen Price say the issue extends beyond downtown and the city, but the DBA wants to be a leader in bringing resolution to this issue.
“As a big part of the community, we’re looking, trying to find a way that we can become a community leader and make safe spaces like the Garden on Fourth [park] and our beautiful downtown … places where people feel welcome and feel comfortable to come down and share with their parents, grandkids and others [to] enjoy time downtown.”
Panhandling, disturbances, public intoxication, suspicious activity and thefts have all been reported from the downtown area in recent months.
Price said there have been instances all over the city in which people haven’t felt safe, so they wanted to bring a group together.
“We know that it happens in bigger centres… but we’re just wanting to know what we can do as a community in working with the services that we have available to us in the city, to go forward with some of these programs that can help them as well as help us,” said Price.
Sereggela noted Price has worked diligently on this front. Price said she decided to spend a little time talking to business owners about their experiences and found they were similar to hers.
“I was literally shocked. I had no idea that everybody was having all of these issues, and then as it started getting bigger and bigger, people were saying ‘That happens in this park’, ‘That happened while I was walking’ and ‘This was on the bike path’, and it overwhelmed me because I thought it was an isolated instance down here, and but I found that it was ballooning all over the city.
“So that’s when we jumped in and thought before this gets way overgrown, we need to maybe start looking and going and talking and letting the council know it’s a problem all over.”
They said both council and the police board were very receptive, especially since Sereggela said the DBA was asking what they can do to remedy the situation. The Estevan Police Service told DBA members they shouldn’t feel bad about repeated calls for suspicious activity.
The EPS offered to have more foot patrols, and Price said it makes a difference when people see officers walking down the street or in businesses.
Sereggela noted the downtown businesses employ a lot of people, and he has some young staff members working in the evenings.
“We’re concerned for our patrons. We want our patrons to feel safe,” he said. “It started out as ‘Is there something we need to do downtown’ but now it’s more of ‘What can we do for the city’?”
They viewed meetings with the police board and city council as positive.
Price added the DBA went to the city to learn the programs that are out there and if laws could be changed that would enable the police to get people more professional help.
“We’re pretty empathetic of these people,” Sereggela said. “We’re not in a position to help, but we’re not in a position to judge, either.”
Among the ideas suggested was posting signage downtown and elsewhere so that people know how to contact the police if a situation arises. They also suggested having street captains in a system similar to the Block Parent program.
Estevan is a community that takes pride in all it has to offer, Sereggela said. He raised his two children here, and he doesn’t believe they’d be as successful as they are today if they weren’t here.
Price added people should feel safe in their community, and they don’t want to see somebody get hurt.
If people have ideas on how to address the matter, Sereggela and Price said they are willing to listen.
In an email to SaskToday, Estevan Deputy Police Chief Warren Morrical said in response to concerns raised in the downtown area, the EPS has increased its police presence in the area throughout the day by having members conduct additional vehicle patrols, as well as foot and bicycle patrols.
“Multiple additional contacts with people in these areas have been prioritized for frontline officers,” he said. “Also, as time permits, the EPS executive officers have spent time on foot patrol, engaging with business owners to obtain their perspective on effectiveness of the response and identify any ongoing issues.”
Initial reports received have indicated a positive impact on the concerns, he said, and support for the increased police presence in the area.
