‘Is Hamilton a dangerous city?’: Hamilton mayoral candidates speak on improving local perception

“Is Hamilton a dangerous city?” — a question that has gotten a lot of airtime during this fall’s municipal election.

While the statistics show that crime is down overall across the city, many residents still have concerns following shootings that have killed bystanders and high-profile searches for teen suspects in recent years.

CHCH News spoke with Hamilton’s top three mayoral candidates to ask what their plan is to change that perception.

Just last week, Hamilton police reported two random stabbings that took place in the city.

Last Monday, a woman reportedly ran into the emergency department of Juravinski Hospital and stabbed a 71-year-old man.

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Just five days later, police say a man stabbed a 45-year-old woman while she was waiting for the bus at Eastgate Square.

Both attacks were “random” and “unprovoked” and in both cases, the victims survived.

Despite incidents like these, the numbers paint a different picture: almost all categories of violent crime are down in Hamilton according to police data, with 26 shootings reported so far this year — a 16 per cent dip from this time last year.

“When you look at the downtown, the nearly $300 million investment from the TD coliseum is activating the downtown in terms of bringing people to the downtown,” said Hamilton incumbent Mayor Andrea Horwath, “and when there are more people in our downtown, it feels safer.”

Police data also shows that downtown Hamilton is not more dangerous than other areas of the city, but it remains at the centre of the conversation.

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At a Hamilton police safety summit earlier this year, nearly 78 per cent of participants said they feel unsafe downtown, pointing primarily to open drug use.

An issue that incumbent mayor Horwath says she’s been working with police to solve.

“We are trying to get some focus from the federal prosecutors, and particularly the Crown, to get a Crown here that is constantly addressing charges that are coming, when it comes to drug possession and particularly drug trafficking,” said Horwath.

Police have been putting more resources into the core this year, with a new Jackson Square sub-station and the Core Patrol Team walking the beat.

The city also has a 10-year revitalization plan for the neighbourhood.

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“There’s no doubt that people feel unsafe in this community and everybody deserves to feel safe in Hamilton,” said mayoral candidate Keanin Loomis.

For candidate Loomis, those results need to come quicker, and start with creating a single, coordinated response from city hall, bringing together the city, police and outreach workers.

“Once we’re able to bring safety to downtown, that’s when investment will follow,” said Loomis. “I propose a 100 day plan that will set out the goals, and again, hold us accountable after those 100 days for implementing tangible results for improving safety. I promise to be on the Hamilton Police Services board for my entire term.”

Loomis and Hamilton Ward 8 Counc. Rob Cooper are both promising to sit on the Hamilton police board, should they be elected.

Horwath stepped down from the board last fall, citing scheduling conflicts.

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“First few steps I would take: number one, I would be on the police board and we’d be building a strategy with the chief,” said Cooper.

Cooper is running on a three-pronged approach: he calls prevention, enforcement and “breaking the cycle.”

“If you don’t even define the problem accurately, how can you fix it? So I’ve come out and said, ‘you know what? Hamilton is dangerous and unsafe’,” said Cooper. “It’s about gangs, guns and drugs, and we have a drug business model we need to bust and we’re going to bust it. Right now it’s challenging — we have a mayor who does not believe she has time to be on that police board.”

All three of the candidates also acknowledged the need to provide more support for people experiencing homelessness, and how that impacts the vibrancy of the city’s downtown.

CHCH News will take a closer look at their plan to tackle that issue on Tuesday.

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