Keep alert and stay safe - Town Hall Meeting

Keep alert and stay safe. 

It was one of the messages coming to the residents of 51 Division during an April 18 townhall session at St. Lawrence Hall designed to prevent people from becoming victims of crime.

“There have been street robberies across the division and we want to make people aware of their surroundings so they are less likely to be victimized,” 51 Division unit commander Supt. John Tanouye said, of the thefts that often target young people with electronic devices.

Presentations were also made by the Family Violence Unit, Crime Stoppers and the 51 Division crime analyst. All officers were involved in a panel afterwards open to questions from the 70 residents on hand.

Tanouye said elder abuse and domestic violence was a topic police wanted to address in order to encourage people to report the crimes.

“Some victims of abuse can’t see a way out of their situation,” he said. “We want them to know that the police can assist them in ending their abuse and connecting them with social services and other resources.”

Tanouye said the townhall was a “unified approach” to addressing victimization that allowed the community direct contact with the officers who do the job every day.