Drugs, guns and traffic concerns are top of mind for York Region residents, however the majority said they feel safe in their community during York Regional Police's social media town hall.
The York force took to Twitter and Facebook tonight to ask the community what they thought about policing and safety in the region.
Residents took the opportunity to have their voices heard in the two-hour long virtual event Feb 2, as well as answered questions posed by the department.
The town hall kicked off with police asking what the force does well. One person simply said road safety, while a user named Barry Croll responded, "Listening to the community and taking online issues seriously which is a great thing for police to do."
Follower DWMacBeth said YRP “responds well to requests for assistance whether through a 911 initiated call or a non-emergency situation.”
Other followers praised the force for its community engagement, especially online, with a couple mentioning YRP’s social media skills as a highlight.
On Facebook, users flooded the comments on this question with more than 200 responses. Many shared personal experiences, some mentioning that officers are professional, compassionate and kind.
“I watched three officers de-escalate a situation between a teen with (mental health issues) and his mother on the sidewalk in front of my home a few months back. They were calm, understanding and listened to him. They were out there almost an hour,” posted Cheryl Good. “Kudos. It was great to watch these amazing, compassionate officers.”
YRP then pivoted to ask what it needs to improve on.
Croll weighed in again, saying improvement in response to calls involving mental health issues is needed.
“Seems the older officers have less patience and understanding than the younger officers on the force,” he said.
YRP responded, “Providing training and tools to frontline officers to respond to people in crisis is a priority for YRP. This training emphasizes the importance of compassion and understanding to ensure people get the help they need.”
Despite praising officers for how they respond to issues, DWMacBeth tweeted that they have heard from other residents who said, “When I do file a complaint/express a concern; rarely - if ever do I hear back on the item or it is difficult to get a status update."
The response was, “We are always looking for technology and processes to provide better feedback and options to follow up on concerns/complaints. We'll take this into consideration.”
On Facebook, Brian William said there should be more foot patrols and officers walking the streets, talking to residents along the way.
The force then posted its first poll of the evening, asking residents about their biggest public safety concern. The options were property crimes, violent crimes, traffic safety and internet crimes.
Pflag York Region, the region’s LGBTQ2 resource and support network, responded to the poll, “Option E. Hate Crimes/Hate-Motivated Incidents.”
“We remain committed to aggressively combating hate in all its ugly forms. We're doing this through enforcement, education and ongoing collaboration with our great partners, such as you,” YRP responded.
By the end of the town hall, the poll showed violent crimes as the No. 1 concern with 43.7 per cent of participants voting for that option. Traffic safety was second with 28.7 per cent of the vote, followed by property crimes at 20.7 per cent and then internet crimes with 6.9 per cent.
Participants were then asked what the force's top priorities should be moving forward.
Responses included combating illegal guns, drugs, trafficking, distracted drivers, and responding quickly to situations. One user, Lomingan, asked if they could advocate for tough penalties for impaired driving, to which YRP said they support stiffer penalties to address.
In its second poll of the night, police asked how safe residents feel in their community. A large majority of respondents said they felt safe, with 31.2 per cent voting that they felt very safe and 52.2 per cent saying they felt reasonably safe. Twelve per cent said they felt a little unsafe, while 4.3 per cent said they felt very unsafe.
The force asked how it could collaborate better with the community. When one follower asked about bringing back Police Week, YRP said they would be monitoring COVID-19 guidelines to see if they can host the event this year. Police Week in the past has involved an open house to welcome the community for a behind the scenes look.
Followers again praised YRP for its Twitter engagement, as the force is known to mix its posts with humour. That’s why when the last poll question of the evening asked how people prefer to receive safety messages from YRP, social media won in a landslide vote with around 90 per cent of respondents choosing that option.
YRP thanked everyone for their “outstanding suggestions and comments.”
“All of these contributions are important to our planning process and ensuring we can keep York Region a safe place to live, work and play.”
