Downtown policing, Setters Place user fees to be discussed at Mid-Year Budget Review

Red Deer city council will look at whether to increase the downtown police presence even further when they sit down for the Mid-Year Budget Review on Wednesday.

The proposal on the table is to add a sixth RCMP member to the Downtown Team established last fall, along with two peace officers to augment the team, bringing the total number of uniformed officers dedicated to the downtown area to eight.

“While these investments will make a difference in the crime and illicit activity on downtown Red Deer, they will not provide the ultimate long term solution,” reads a report to council.

“The City has made significant investments to deal with the issue, but there are many systems and programs that are the responsibility of other orders in government that need a collaborative approach to deal with this complex problem.”