Drugs, crime a concern for CBN communities

By Olivia Bradbury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Joint Council of Conception Bay North (JCCBN) is working with Atlantic Canadian firm Thinkwell Research + Strategy to formulate a community safety and well-being plan. At the most recent JCCBN meeting, Thinkwell Vice President of Research Lianne Sarson asked members what safety concerns existed in their communities.
Earlier that day, there had been a police raid on a trap house in Carbonear. With this in mind, Carbonear Deputy Mayor Fred Earle named drugs as a major safety concern for the town. He surmised that other communities likely had similar issues.
JCCBN Chair and Bay Roberts Mayor Geoff Seymour confirmed that drugs were also a big concern in his town.
“Definitely an issue in Bay Roberts,” he said. “The drug culture and everything that comes with it, with the petty crime, the theft, the break-and-enters.”
He said residents are nervous and, on top of locking their doors, are installing lights and cameras on their properties.
“Drugs seem to be the root of all these petty crimes,” said South River Councillor David Petten. He added that they are sometimes the cause of domestic issues and violent crime. “It stems from drugs and alcohol.”
Harbour Grace Deputy Mayor Gary Baker said there is a lot of frustration in the community due to the amount of crime. “There’s frustration with the system as a whole because it’s not taking care of the criminals. It’s taking them off the streets for a few days, then they’re back on the streets again,” he said, referring to the “catch and release” phenomenon by which criminals are quickly returned to the community after being arrested.
Bay Roberts Councillor Dean Franey said there seems to be more criminal activity now than in the past. However, he was not sure if this is because the number of perpetrators has grown, or if would-be criminals simply are not as afraid as they once were because they are aware of the catch and release trend and feel they are not at risk of serious punishment.
After being asked by Sarson if they had seen any change in the rate of drug use in CBN in the past five years, Seymour replied that he thinks there has been a steady increase. Some JCCBN members noted that more serious drugs were now involved, too.
Petten said that, while drugs were the root cause of many petty crimes, it was not the sole cause of the increase of crime in the province. “The situation’s a lot bigger than that,” he said. “I mean, you’ve got major crime organizations operating in this province now that we’ve probably never seen before.” He added that the CBN area has also seen an increase in violent crimes, including murder, in recent years.
The community safety and well-being plan will ideally help address and lessen the risk of certain safety concerns in CBN. For more information, people can visit CBNSafetyPlan.ca. The JCCBN will also be holding focus groups where CBN residents can share their thoughts and experiences to help shape the plan. Updated focus groups can be found on some official town websites and on the Facebook pages of JCCBN communities and organizations such as Communities Against Violence and the Splash Centre.