(Photo: TDCB)
The preliminary results of a pilot project on panhandling have been released by Codiac RCMP.
The visibility of enforcement personnel was increased in downtown Moncton during the recent initiative.
Codiac RCMP Superintendent Tom Critchlow told City Council that about 18 panhandling complaints have been received each month.
“(During the pilot project) A significant portion of these moved from the downtown locations to other locations such as Main and Wheeler. So this was after the emergency out of the cold shelter closed and this represented 38 percent of all panhandling complaints,” he noted.
Critchlow says most of the downtown complaints came from the areas near the National Bank, Keating’s Tobacco and Reid’s Newsstand.
He says six men were responsible for about 38 percent of the complaints of which four were homeless and two relocated to other communities during the pilot project.
Critchlow adds the results will be shared with public safety partners such as City of Moncton bylaw enforcement, DMCI (Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc.) and the Public Safety Advisory Committee to best determine the next steps going forward.
