At a council meeting in Smithers on Tuesday, September 9th, a $235,000 security contract had been awarded to Prince George based Blue Hawk Security to provide security services at the Town’s Temporary Overnight Sheltering Area, and to provide roving patrols of the downtown core.
The Town says starting in October, security contractors will begin patrolling the TOSA, as well as the downtown core and ‘strategic community locations’. In a bid to provide consistent monitoring and to deter disruptive behavior, Blue Hawk personnel will be patrolling these areas overnight on weekdays from 7:00pm to 7:00am, with 24 hours patrols on weekends and stat holidays.
Mayor and Council also approved $126,500 for improvements at the TOSA, for a combined total of $361,500 which will be covered though the Town’s Resource Benefits Alliance funding. This means property taxes for residents should not be affected.
The Town of Smithers notes that this is not a permanent solution to safety concerns around town, but says it does build on the recent strengthening of the enforcement powers of its Bylaw officers, and the Smithers RCMP’s own ramped up policing efforts via C-STEP.
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