SAFER AND VITAL COMMUNITIES GRANT REPORT
"Creating Safer Neighbourhoods Project"
The following are highlights of the activities undertaken by the Regional Multicultural Youth Council’s (RMYC) for the "Creating Safer Neighbourhoods" project.
The project focused on ways to make our communities safer. The RMYC organized meetings for youths and adults to discuss the nature of crime and violence in our neighbourhoods. This was an opportunity to learn what is going on, exchange information, share experiences on how youths are involved, and come up with ideas to address the problems. From the discussions, it was very clear that young people want to feel safe, and are concerned about crime and violence as everyone else.
The RMYC also conducted a survey of the Thunder Bay Transit riders. A team from the Youth Centre talked with bus riders at the Brodie and Water Street Bus Terminals. They also rode the buses for first hand experience. In addition, they interviewed youths at the Youth Centre who were afraid to use the buses at night to come to our activities. Many had seen fights, been threatened, or harassed verbally by pen-handlers, drunks or gang members. As a result some parents were reluctant to let thm use buses to attend events organized at the Centre. Therefore, only those who could get rides rides were able to participate in our activities.
The team also talked with the bus drivers, and police officers. This was all done between June and November, 2007.
General Observations:
All the young people we surveyed had either seen, or heard about some risky situations at the bus terminals. Some had personally witnessed fights, verbal assaults, been approached by pen-handlers, seen arguments and other situations that made them feel uncomfortable or afraid. The youth acknowledged the presence of youth street gangs and their activities at the terminals. They attributed some fights to gang rivalry, tensions between on-reserve and off-reserve youths, and racism between Aboriginal and non Aboriginal youths. Many people were afraid to speak out for fear of reprisal. Almost everyone had some experiences with drunks who harassed them. While the drunks may not have threatened them physically or verbally, they were still a concern because of their persistence and unpredictability.
The neighbourhood surrounding the terminal or bus stop affects the safety concerns of the users.One transit user commented that waiting for the bus in Westfort, Fort William downtown and Port Arthur south core at night or alone requires particular caution because of the surrounding community
The bus routes Mainline and Memorial were of most concern to those who identified safety issues in the bus routes. This is because of their intercity route and the neighbourhoods around them that scare riders.
A number of youths were uncomfortable with the police around because of the fear of being harassed by the officers. They said that they did not trust the police to protect them from past personal experiences that were negative.
Most young people feel safer in a group–for protection. Ironically this often creates fear among lone passengers who see a group as intimidating to them.
There are negative perceptions about groups of youths, especially Aboriginal youths who are generally stereotyped as gang members or affiliated with youth gangs.
Playing classical music in the bus terminals to ward off loitering have little effect on most of the people we surveyed. Cold weather in winter and other factors such as fear of being assaulted factored more on whether they hung around the terminals. On the other had, drug traffickers and potential gang members did not care about the music being played. In fact many young people have I-pods.
Some feel that the security cameras located in the terminally are not really working, because they do not seem to provide adequate security. Hooking them up with the the "Eye-in-the-Sky" surveillance system in the downtown cores would be more reassuring to the riders and the general public.
Some people felt that the survey was a waste of time because nothing would be done to improve the system. In fact some respondents said that they had called in to report problems, and written letters to the newspapers, but nothing happened.
Another respondent felt that the transit was for the poor and marginalized, so policy -makers who do not use it do not really care. Probably, if someone was killed, or there was a law-suit, then they may be forced to act.
Many Aboriginal people surveyed felt that racism is a problem at terminals and on busses. They are often harassed by non-Aboriginal passengers, the police and some bus drivers who treated them rudely or unfairly by not stopping long enough to get on or off the bus safely, or harass them about transfer passes. Some cultural sensitivity training, and cultural awareness orientation should be given to bus drivers, police officers and security guards dealing with the transit system.
Summary of the Concerns:
The Water Street Terminal is considered to be safer than Brodie Street Terminal
Transit uses feel more safe during the morning and afternoon rather than at night.
The Brodie Street Terminal is considered to be especially unsafe after nightfall.
A majority of problems identified include loitering, public intoxication, fights, rowdiness, lack of consideration of others, physical and verbal threats.
Other safety issues concerns include the distribution of alcohol to minors, drug dealing, racial remarks, and rudeness at the terminals, bus stops and in the busses.
Gangs often hang out at the bus terminals, recruiting members and prostitutes, dealing drugs, intimidating rival gang members, and harassing other people.
Dirty, smelly and smoking passengers created discomfort for other bus riders.
Some people feel frustrated contacting the police after an incident because officers are usually late to do anything. A significant number of youths are afraid to call police officers due to past negative experiences dealing with them.
Many with safety concerns do not report their concerns and experiences to the police because they feel the police won’t do much about it.
The presence of bus drivers created a feeling of safety among many transit users.
Some bus drivers deal with safety concerns in an efficient and professional manner.
The presence of the police at night at the Brodie Street Terminal since they were introduced in the fall has increased the feeling of safety for most users.
Suggestions to make the transit safer:
C Having security guards or regular police patrols at the terminals
C Installing brighter lights around the terminals
C Video cameras and visible public notices that passengers are under surveillance. It was suggested that the special surveillance cameras at Brodie and Water Streets be linked with the down-town surveillance system for better monitoring.
C Direct phones at terminals and bus-stops for emergencies to police.
C Adding regular public announcements to the taped classical music piped through the terminal PA system. Occasionally interrupting the music with ‘safety’ messages similar to Airport ‘security’ announcements can remind people at the terminals that they are under surveillance. Broadcasting messages such as: "for safety, everyone is under surveillance; You are valued customer, please do your part to keep the terminal clean – do not litter; please show respect to other transit users, etc would encourage the general public to play a role to make the terminals and transit safer.
C Regular surveys on passenger satisfaction and suggestion boxes at the terminals for ideas to enhance passenger safety would help provided they are acted on.
C Consulting the general public on ways to improve the transit system would get more potential passengers to use the system and increase the numbers of bus riders.
C Training bus drivers to deal with rowdy passengers, intoxicated people, the youth loitering at the terminals would help to avoid potentially dangerous situations.
C Offering some fun activities for the youth in the core areas would help to keep them busy so that they do not loiter at the bus terminals.
Concluding Comments:
The RMYC survey team was quite impressed with the reception and level of participation we received from those we approached about the project. In spite of the cynicism by some people that anything will come out of what we were doing, they were generally very co-operative and responded to our questions.
From the survey, we learned that the Thunder Bay Transit Terminals and bus stops are generally considered safe during daylight hours. Attitudes and perception change at nightfall, when concerns about safety increases. More adults are afraid of youths loitering at the terminals at night, and many youths acknowledge that one has to be more careful at night. However, some, who we suspect to be perpetrators of violence or are engaged in criminal activities do not seem to be concerned about safety. They feel that things are OK, and do not like police, security guards or bus drivers meddling into their business.
The Brodie Street Terminal is considered to be higher risk for passengers. Transit users are concerns about verbal and physical assaults, loitering, public intoxication, harassment, fighting, bootlegging, prostitution, drug dealing, and other negative lifestyles. Passengers feel safer in the presence of bus drivers, security guards, the police and even cleaners. Having someone present seems to ensure their safety, and prevent potential problems.
From this project, we are promoting recommendations above under Suggestions to make the transit safer. The RMYC will be sharing this report with Thunder Bay City Council, the Thunder Bay Police, and the Thunder Bay Transit, and request that they act on them. We will also share the information with the general public to mobilize them to put pressure on the Transit authority to review the suggestions and work with the City and the Police to improve the system.
We feel that this will be a win/win situation. A safer transit system will increase the riders, and for the RMYC, more youths will have the confidence to use the buses to participate in after-school programs at our Youth Centre.
Prepared by: Ashley Atatise, Alison Bortolon, Pauline Fogarty, Eugene Lee, Marcus Ostamus, Shawna Pelletier, Jessica Plumpton, Valentina Rae, Shari Sekhon, Sasha Sky, Charlena Thompson, and Martin Zhang