Bob Doiron can recite in rapid succession a laundry list of items that have gone missing from his backyard on Fredericton’s north side.

Last week it was a ladder, a few months ago it was a plastic utility box, and earlier disappearances have included lawn chairs, bikes, roofing shingles and building materials that have disappeared from his yard, which borders the city’s north-side multi-use trail.

This year, the City of Fredericton piloted the use of private security guards to patrol the south and north-side commercial centres, as well as the trails on both sides of the St. John River.

But rather than seeing a reduction in the number of trespassers and thefts from his backyard, Doiron said the problem only got worse.

“I think overall the pilot project is a good project,” he said, referring to the city’s Community Safety Services Unit.

But at the same time, it moves moves people “along from the downtown area and … I would suspect strongly with the uptick, that we see that population now on the north side, you know, around the trail system.”

Councillors are set to decide this month whether to spend more money next year on the unit, which was launched in the spring as a pilot project to address issues around loitering, tent camps, theft and vandalism in the south and north-side central business districts and on the city’s trail network.

The unit is made up of contract security guards tasked with patrolling from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., daily, from May to October.

At a meeting this week, city staff presented councillors with a plan to potentially spend another $600,000 to fund the unit to the same level as this year.

But that decision prompted debate about a perceived higher level of crime on the city’s north side, and whether the unit was unequally benefiting businesses and residents on either side of the river.

“I was fully expecting a line item for an additional $250,000 for a north-side community safety unit,” said Coun. Steven Hicks, chair of the city’s public safety committee.

“We have a lot of issues on the north side, and a lot of criminal element seems to be operating within our trail system there.”

Mayor Kate Rogers also questioned why the unit wasn’t being expanded to better address the north side, which she suggested wasn’t equally benefiting from the work by its officers.

“Was there a reason why [business owners] are not feeling it on the north side? Because we’re certainly hearing the businesses are not feeling the presence in the same way that south side businesses are,” said Rogers, speaking to Brad Cameron, who was in charge of the unit.

Cameron said the security guards are supposed to be split between the south and north sides of the city, but added that challenges on the north-side trail took up a lot of the time spent on that side of the river.

During a presentation to councillors last month, he said officers were often busy responding to calls about tent encampments, illegal motorcycle and ATV use, and open drug use on that section of trail between Barkers Point and Nashwaaksis.

It could be a very dangerous situation.– Trina MacDonald, Business Fredericton North Inc.

Speaking to reporters after Monday’s budget meeting, Cameron denied there being any difference in the level of service north and south sides of the city.

“We don’t receive that feedback,” he said, though he did concede the safety officers were “obviously down on foot more on the south side.”

Asked whether there would be a plan to address any gaps on the north side, Cameron said $100,000 out of the $600,000 being requested was surplus money that can be spent on improvements to the quality of service.

North-side businesses didn’t feel same benefit

Doiron said he spends a lot of time in his backyard and questions just how equally split the unit was between the north and south sides.

“I’ve never seen the community officers on the trail,” he said.

And he isn’t the only north-sider who said he observed lopsided results from the unit.

While the business improvement organization for the south side praised the pilot project, business owners primarily along Main Street didn’t experience the same benefit, said Trina MacDonald, general manager of Business Fredericton North Inc.

MacDonald said officers in the unit would start their day at 6 a.m. by doing patrols on the south side, but sometimes wouldn’t do the same on the north side until the afternoon.

“And as a result, many of our businesses and property owners, they had already had to deal with people in their doorways or camped in front of their properties before the team could even get there,” she said.

“And in some cases it could be a very dangerous situation.”

Calls to beef-up unit

MacDonald said she still thinks the pilot was a success, adding that officers showed up to the north side whenever they were called on.

But in light of the differences in service some business owners noticed, she said she’s asked the city to create a section of the unit dedicated to the north side.

“The early morning hours were the critical times where we would like to see an improvement in the program,” she said.

Doiron also wants to see the unit brought back next year, but suggests the city expand it to operate round the clock.

“I’d like to see both sides of the river, or all parts of the city addressed equally, whatever the need is,” Doiron said.

“And I would like to see the community service unit … operate 24/7. You know, crime doesn’t respect time and space.”

The city’s tentative 2024 budget also calls $898,302 to hire six more front-line police officers dedicated to the city’s south and north cores.

Councillors are set to finalize next year’s budget at a meeting on Nov. 20.