City’s streets growing dangerous, council told
A local man wants to see another RCMP officer hired to patrol Whitehorse’s downtown streets at night.
Photo by Whitehorse Star
Tim Kucharuk
A local man wants to see another RCMP officer hired to patrol Whitehorse’s downtown streets at night.
At Monday evening’s council meeting, Tim Kucharuk proposed the city follow the lead of Hinton, Alta., and pay for an officer specifically to deal with issues in the downtown core.
Kucharuk’s wife manages the Yukon Theatre on Wood Street.
In his presentation to council last night, Kucharuk said he finds himself fearing for her safety when she’s working late at night.
Many times, patrons have come into the theatre already drunk or “on something,” Kucharuk said.
He relayed his experiences of early-morning phone calls from the security firm the theatre uses about the glass doors being smashed and heading off to the theatre to clean up the mess.
The last time it happened, he said, there were still people across the street in LePage Park drinking when he and his wife went back home at 3 a.m.
Other times, she’s had to force people out of theatre due to fighting, then call the police as the altercation continues outside.
During one brawl in the park, he told council, the RCMP arrived half an hour after they were called.
After 5 p.m. on Fridays, he said, the whole mood of Main Street changes.
“It’s going to get worse,” Kucharuk predicted, pointing to the city’s growing population.
His wife has taken whatever measures are possible, including posting signs that anyone suspected of being intoxicated will be told to leave the theatre.
He suggested some measures the city and business community could take.
Recognizing that RCMP funding falls under the territorial government’s jurisdiction, Kucharuk made his suggestion that the city pay for the additional officer, noting that in the case of Hinton, it cost about $100,000.
He also noted that the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce could be asked to contribute as well.
Coun. Ranj Pillai asked him what the response was like after Hinton brought in the additional officers.
Kucharuk noted it was welcomed by the community, which was in the midst of a growth spurt at the time.
Coun. Kirk Cameron, meanwhile, pointed to the Community Consultative Group the local RCMP are setting up. He wondered if Kucharuk was willing to sit on that, to which Kucharuk said he is already considering it.
The group would help the RCMP respond to residents’ needs and concerns “related to crime and community safety,” it was noted in an RCMP statement last month.
Kucharuk also suggested more security cameras be installed in the downtown area and noted there are some businesses taking action, with one he’s noticed hiring a security guard.
A spokesman for the Whitehorse RCMP could not be reached this morning to comment on Kucharuk’s concerns and suggestions.
flyingfur
Oct 2, 2012 at 3:49 pm
I agree wholeheartedly with this and I doubt the RCMP would argue that they could use some more boots on the ground. On a similar note: they could put a speed trap on Hamilton Blvd every day for a year and catch 100 people a day doing 40 km/hr over the limit. Monday night I was heading down the hill and was passed by a guy doing over 100km/hr in his truck who gave me a look for getting in his way. Of course coming back up the hill the same thing with a woman in a Honda CRV going almost as fast. How many accidents at the bottom of 2 Mile Hill have we had this week already and it’s only Tuesday?