Didn't they announce something like this last year? A downtown presence that was supposed to become familiar with the downtown residents and help clean things up? And then after the initial announcement, nothing seemed to happen and was never heard about again. Is this going to be the same thing?

This is going to help. All we can do is hope and pray that it works Acopolympics :}
There are stores down town that I would like to frequent more often. I try to avoid it because I have had some worrisome confrontations down there.

Lets give them a chance ....
We have had an increased police presence downtown as of late, this is over and above that....

five members needed to respond to a routine drunk call? OMG.

How many RCMP does it take to clean up a down town core.

5
1 to answer phones
1 to get doughnuts (you knew this would be in the list)
1 to drive the car
1 hold the taser

And the fifth to help you count, Loki? ;-)

PG certainly isn't fantastic downtown but i read posts and it sounds like the second you are out of your car people are getting hassled. I shop downtown fairly regularly (most of my favorite stores are downtown i.e. Homework, Plateau clothing and the Northern, to name a few)and I have not once been hassled for change or anything. I don't feel "unsafe", it's just dirty and ugly for the most part...there are some pretty marginal looking people loitering about...but they seem harmless. That being said, they should be moved along and they shouldn't be shouting and carrying on on the streets i.e. outside the Achillion, due to the Croft...it is hopeful the new police presence will take care of this. And those of you who would like to shop downtown will, this is the only way these store owners will stay in business...if you like a store, frequent it...

LOL with interceptor.

Kind of ironic that they would take the picture infront of a boarded up building.

I think it great to take back out down town.

Loki is abit of a knob I'd say. I also shop downtown from George Street to Victoria and have never been confronted by any of these people. So who is it that is getting accosted cuz I've just not yet seen it.
I do get hassled at Save On on Victoria Street but nobody every complains about that.

C'mon shesmiles and greta, obviously you don't know what you are talking about! J/K :)

I work downtown and I tend to agree with both of you. My impression of downtown is that for the most part, it's ugly, it's dirty and there isn't much down there to draw people in. I don't find it particularily unsafe though. There are lots of people down there that make it unattractive, but I've never felt threatened by the street people (then again I'm not a small guy either). I have been asked for change but when I say "sorry I don't have any", I usually get the "okay thanks have a nice day", like you would from any street person in Canada.

Maybe part of PG's problem is that the people living here have never experienced life in any other larger cities so they think our problems are unique.

I still say if you make the downtown attractive and find ways to get people into the downtown core, the negative aspects will be less noticeable. Right it sticks out like a sore thumb because there is nothing else going on down there.

exactly

I agree 100% with "shesmiles", "greta" and "NMG".

We need to find out WHY B&B rebuilt on George Street instead of in the Vancouver-Victoria corridor, as a for instance. Or in the Gateway for that matter.

We need to find out why the Bakery is still on George Street instead of near the western edge of downtown.

We need to find out why the farmer's market wants to have an indoor presence on George Street.

We need to find out why the Keg might be investing some major dollars in bringing their "look" up to more current standards and staying on George Street as they do so.

When we find that out, we should then realize that others might do the same thing if given similar opportunities.

The reasons for the above businesses wanting to be where they are has very little to do with the type of people one might encounter on the street. If it did, they would not choose to be there.

whats wrong with downtown? looks fine to me

Despite my effort to make light of this, I do think it is a great start and a valuble piece of the solution downtown.

I can count just fine. When one considers their activities and the environment they work in, I would think that they would never be alone while on duty. Therein lies the rub. ;>

A small concern for safe work practices.

All the comments about how downtown is not so bad certainly apply, during daytime, and maybe early evening, on a Friday.
That's important, because those hours are when most shoppers would go there. Maybe things will even improve now with five or four extra fuzz on the beat. Still of concern though is safety and security at night. I won't have dinner downtown at night unless I can park in a place where I can see my vehicle, or where there are a lot of people coming and going, because I don't want someone breaking into my vehicle. In my opinion, the chances of that happening are fairly high. Is the new taskforce planning on being out on the streets all night long? If not, it will be a half assed effort.
metalman.

the guy up front looks like a pedophile

wow mr mcsqueel... good to see ur finally working rather then tradin sexual favors with street workerd for fake tips on fake gansgter..this whole downtown unit would be great if one of the most corrupt cops in the rcmp wasnt top man. too bad all the tax payers r wasten their hard earned money helpin out this criminal with a badge.. anyways the uniform looks good kent,,keep up the good work of pretending ur a great cop....