Timmins councillor wants community safety to be council's top priority

Break-ins have become a problem at McDonald's Guardian Pharmacy and Variety Store is located in South Porcupine's downtown area.

People who work there said the business has been broken into seven times over the past four years -- and three of those instances have been in the past two weeks.

“Each instance is being investigated by the Timmins Police Service," said Marc Depatie, communications coordinator for the Timmins Police Service.

“We haven’t fully determined whether or not one person is responsible or if this is a number of persons who’ve decided to target this particular business in South Porcupine.”

To harden the target, the owner is installing bars on the doors and windows.

This situation makes Timmins councillor Steve Black want to do what he can to make Timmins a safer place. He brought up the issue of community safety at a recent council meeting and said he'll be proposing some resolutions.

“I’m working on them. There’s going to be some for enhanced coverage on the policing side. There’s going to be some for the province for changes to the criminal justice side," Black said.

"There’s going to be some asks for additional city support in this area and keeping our downtown areas clean and safe, as well."

In the meantime, he said he wants to hear from more business owners and residents about their experiences with crime. Timmins police officials said they do, as well.

“We strongly urge that any suspicious activity that you notice in your neighborhood or in the business community ... should be reported to police for investigation," said Depatie.

"We are endowed with certain authorities that allow us to interrogate persons and determine the legitimacy why they’re at a given location.”

Black said community safety should be the No. 1 priority for the current council.