David Saad said his decision — last November — to hire security to patrol his neighbourhood in south Cabbagetown has been “way more effective than he ever imagined.”
The jewelry designer said it was originally done to send a strong message to his city councillor, Kristyn Wong-Tam, the mayor, the police chief and the 51 Division superintendent.
He says little was done to “fix” the crime — vandalism, car and bike thefts and general lawlessness — that has plagued his neighbourhood in recent years, particularly as a result of the plethora of safe injection sites and respite shelters.
He said prior to making the decision to hire security company Primary Defence Corp. to patrol a series of streets between Dundas and Shuter Sts., residents tried many times to meet with Wong-Tam and the police, but they always told them the same thing.
“They’d tell us all about amazing things they’ve been doing and then why they can’t do anything else,” he said.
Using a
GoFundMe platform, he has raised nearly $8,000 to date. They’ve used up nearly $5,000 of that having the security work three nights a week (they’re hoping to get to four) at $205 a night.
A pacifist, Saad said he made sure he hired a company that had a zero contact policy — the guards are told to run away if someone pulls a knife or tries to engage physically.
But they’ve come up with he thinks is a brilliant plan to get rid of the drug dealers and sex workers on the nights they are on.
He said the guard — in his white car with “Security” written all over it– goes up to a drug dealer or a prostitute and asks them what they’re doing on a particular street being patrolled.
When they indicate they’re just hanging out, the security guard says he, too, will just hang out.
And then he parks, said Saad, and turns on the car’s flashing orange beacon.
Talk about putting the drug dealers and the prostitutes in the spotlight.
“Nobody’s going to buy drugs from a dealer that has a car beside him with a flashing orange beacon,” he said, adding it also deters prostitutes and their johns.
He said there have been no overdose deaths when security personnel are on the job, compared to up to five a night at other times. Break-ins also declined and there are fewer discarded needles and used condoms.
But not everyone is sold on the idea, particularly Wong-Tam.
She said in her many meetings with Toronto Police, they’ve been urging residents to report criminal activity directly to them — either 911 for an emergency or the Toronto Police dispatch line in other cases.
She said Cabbagetown South and Moss Park have eight dedicated neighbourhood officers — the highest level of dedicated policing in Toronto.
“The criminal behaviours that residents are witnessing are deeply distressing … no one should live with the threat of harassment or feeling intimidated and unsafe in their neighbourhoods,” she said.
Wong-Tam blamed the lack of deeply affordable housing and supportive housing for the problems, noting the hiring of private security “does not get closer to this outcome.”
She added that the city is investing this month in two special services worth $1-million — exclusively for south Cabbagetown and Moss Park — that will provide rapid pickup of harm reduction and other paraphernalia on private property and to offer crisis intervention to people experiencing mental health crises.
Saad said he feels action speaks louder than words, a sentiment echoed by fellow Cabbagetown resident, John Dimon.
“It’s about time someone stands up and takes any kind of action against the unsafe, intolerable conditions in Cabbagetown,” Dimon said. “Our elected officials have not shown any interest in combating the crime, growing violence and piss-poor living conditions in downtown Toronto.”
SLevy@postmedia.com
https://torontosun.com/news/local-n...uts-spotlight-on-drug-dealers-and-prostitutes
