City Council approves extension of downtown security pilot project

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BRANTFORD, ON – At their meeting held Tuesday April 27, 2021 Brantford City Council approved a staff recommendation to extend the Security Pilot Project for the expansion of physical security guard services until January 31, 2022, in the City’s downtown core and surrounding neighbourhoods. Initially approved in December 2020 and to respond to a rise in nuisance and petty crime incidents on and in the vicinity of numerous City facilities and properties within the downtown, the program was implemented in January to include a 24/7 supervised security patrol throughout the downtown and neighbouring communities to various housing sites, parks and City facilities within Ward 5, and select City owned seniors housing sites in Ward 1.  

Since the program launched in January 2021, the Corporate Security Guard (CSG) team has adapted services to respond to ongoing incident trends, address specific properties and areas of concern, and develop post orders to support the effective ongoing delivery of security guard services.

The staff report detailed results of:

  • Engagement with downtown residents and staff pre and post program implementation regarding perceptions of safety and security
  • Analysis of the volume and type of security incidents responded to
  • Recommendation to improve service quality and response capabilities
  • Increased overall number of frequency and facilities patrolled

“I’m very encouraged to see Council support the extension of this initiative that reflects the City’s commitment to enhancing public safety,” said Mayor Davis. “The data collected to date demonstrates that the program is helping to reduce instances of disruptive crime in the downtown core and surrounding areas which is exactly the impact we intended. Extending the program to an entire year will also help provide more data to inform a longer-term downtown security plan.”

“Important to the continued success of this initiative is the ongoing collaboration with our community partners including, Brantford Police Services, Wilfrid Laurier Special Constable Service, the Downtown Brantford Business Association, and the Brantford Public Library,” said Lise Sordo, Director of Facilities Management and Security. “During the first few months of the program, the CSG team has progressively become more familiar with the City’s facilities, safety and security concerns and incident hotspots, and will continue to become more effective now that the project has been extended until the end of the year.”

Extending the pilot project to a full year will enable the CSG team to continue to enhance security at corporate sites and more accurately measure and evaluate the impact of this Pilot Project by generating more representative data over the period of a full year. Staff will report back to Council with the data obtained over the course of the Pilot during the 2022 City Budget Estimates Process. The recommended extension will provide the necessary immediate coverage and allow staff the necessary time to investigate and report back with a more permanent and holistic approach to Corporate Security.

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Media Contact: 

Maria Visocchi Director, Communications and Community Engagement
City of Brantford | Office: 519.759.4150 Ext. 5754 | mvisocchi@brantford.ca

 

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