Nanaimo Council's Downtown Security Strategy

 WHACK-A-MOLE

From the same folk who brought you the donut economy and $50,000 signs telling everyone IN Nanaimo they are IN Nanaimo.

So, what in the world is the 'Whack-a-mole' security plan for downtown you may ask. If you have not been downtown lately, especially at night it might surprise you to know it is not a safe and welcoming place.

Running into unsavory souls with drug or mental health issues or just criminal issues is not uncommon. You would not want to venture alone in the evening in the downtown core. 

Unsettling behaviour such as random fires, random knife wielding, and those just howling at the moon are not at all uncommon.

City Council already is spending six figures to enhance security in the Old City Quarter and are now spending another $400K this year and a million and a half next year in an effort to make downtown safe and welcoming once again.

The Whack-A-Mole Strategy Explained

City council will hire additional security personnel who will be tasked with patrolling the downtown core in the evening. Their task will be to tell people to move along if they are occupying doorways, sidewalks etc. in a manner that is a problem. If they are met with a single finger salute they will then phone the RCMP who may have the manpower to attend and go hands-on if necessary.

Either way, the problem will simply keep moving from one location to another to another to another and so forth and so on.

There is no end-game that will actually deal with the issue which in many cases needs to be elevated to a criminal issue, where the courts can deal with criminal activity, and criminals will be put into a facility such as Nanaimo Corrections where they can receive the needed rehab treatment they need.

In the meantime your tax dollars will be spent on a never-ending game of Whack A Mole in downtown Nanaimo. This approach may be successful in moving these folk out of downtown Nanaimo ......... perhaps into your neighbourhood next.