Approximately two dozen or so Airdrie residents came to the City Council Chambers to voice their concerns and opinions on the matters of policing in the city on Thursday evening.  

While the majority of the town hall was focused on traffic issues within Airdrie, as well as concerned business owners and citizens asking RCMP representatives what is being done to combat the issue of burglaries and break-ins, a familiar topic was re-visited from last year’s town hall: The Bayside 7/11 incidents. 

An Airdrie resident who came to the town hall in person said she was the one who initially brought up the issue last November during a previous RCMP town hall. She asked what progress, if any, has been made. 

“The weather's been really cold lately, so activity over there has definitely slowed down, but warmer weather coming. The kids are going to start going again,” she said. “[The] cannabis stores are there; the liquor stores are there, the fights are going to happen more frequently.” 

Sgt. Brad White of the Airdrie RCMP said that the RCMP has had between 16 to 17 calls for service since late November of last year to the area in question. Previously, Discover Airdrie reported that from the beginning of 2021 till November 2021, there were a total of 122 calls to police about incidents in the Bayside Business Plaza. 

“We did reach out with our community corporal and spoke with the businesses there, as well the property management; they did some consultation with them,” Sgt. White said. “Some [businesses] say things are okay, but some do notice some issues.” 

White added that there are ongoing discussions about security cameras being installed, though this is a property management issue.  

“Patrols are still a priority for us for that area. We're going to come up with an enforcement strategy and education strategies as well,” he said. “The public behaviour bylaw is robust enough that we can use it.” 

The Airdrie resident mentioned this was also brought up several months ago at the November 2021 RCMP town hall, and at that point, there were questions about whether the bylaw could be enforced on private property. 

Sgt. White mentioned one of the biggest challenges is that even if the RCMP does respond to a call from a concerned resident and they do respond if individuals involved in any loitering or otherwise have already dispersed, there is little that can be done. He also underscored that like many of the issues surrounding traffic violations, these are all summary offences, which still require evidence to be considered in a court of law. 

Councilor Al Jones, who had taken a keen interest in the issue, also added to the discussion, saying that he had in fact visited the area several times over the past few months during different periods of the day, particularly during lunchtime. He did observe that both principals and vice-principals of the schools nearest the 7/11 Bayside were often seen alongside the school resource police officer. However, he said that when there are authority figures in the area, there is little chance of any melees breaking out.  

“The problem is, you can't you can't have somebody there 24 hours a day, seven days,” Jones said. “As long as you have youth with a lot of overzealousness; young men with a lot of testosterone, young ladies with whatever attitude; you're going to have a conflict with young people.” 

Jones, however, did reiterate that with the warmer weather on its way, there is potential for the area to once again become a hub of skirmishes and possible crime. 

Mayor Peter Brown took pains to stress that he believed the majority of the youth who frequent the area aren’t the problem and that they are supporting local businesses by frequenting the area. 

 

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