It is not necessary or cost-effective to continually dispatch armed police to deal with conflicts rooted in mental health distress, addiction or homelessness.
The Citizen invited candidates in the Oct. 24 municipal election to share their thoughts:
On a cold day in February, I could see the police blockade from my bedroom window. My corner of Centretown was eerily quiet — a welcome reprieve after the three weeks of non-stop honking that the convoy occupation brought to downtown Ottawa. But I was not comforted by the militarized presence outside my door. Because for me and my neighbours, community safety means something much different.
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My wife and I chose to raise our daughter downtown. We love the diversity of Centretown and value living in a community with parks and amenities just a quick walk away.
But the last two years have been rough in the downtown neighbourhoods. I frequently find abandoned needles near my child’s school. And a few months ago, we had to call the paramedics to help revive a neighbour who had overdosed.
I have been knocking on doors for weeks, and the conflicts I am hearing about in our communities are all related to poverty, addiction and homelessness. Coupled with a sense of abandonment and collective trauma triggered by three weeks of police inaction when the convoy occupied our city, people are starting to ask if we can dream of something different.
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Over the last 20 years, the Ottawa police budget nearly tripled, from $135 million to $385 million. This outpaced both population growth and inflation. In contrast, our city’s entire social services sector shares $25 million, split amongst 100 organizations.
The Somerset West Community Health Centre houses the only safe consumption site in our ward, but it only has room for 14 people and can only stay open for limited hours. Similarly, its DOPE response team, which helps reverse overdoses and direct people to appropriate services, can only help a fraction of the people who need it.
The city of Denver, Colorado created a non-police crisis intervention team in 2020 that is dispatched to calls related to mental health, poverty and addiction. It is already showing a 34 per cent decrease in minor crimes.
A recent study presented to the Ottawa police showed that Black people were four times more likely to have force used against them in our city, with Indigenous and Middle Eastern people facing triple and double the risk, respectively.
Groups including the 613-819 Black Hub and the Coalition of Community Health and Resource Centres are calling for us to follow Denver’s lead. Because we know that it is not necessary or cost-effective to continually dispatch armed police officers to deal with conflicts that are rooted in mental health distress, addiction or homelessness.
Police inaction during the first three weeks of the convoy forced many of us in Somerset ward to think deeply about who keeps us safe. And while there is certainly a role for police to deal with crimes of a more serious nature, we need someone else to call when our neighbours are in distress.
It’s time to move resources into the services that help people. Together, we can rethink community safety.
ALSO: What’s the biggest municipal election issue in Ward 14 – Somerset?
Ariel Troster is running for Ottawa Council to represent Somerset ward. Twitter: @ArielTroster or visit her website.
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