The safety of our downtown core was in the spotlight yet again this weekend after SooToday told you the disturbing story of an elderly woman who was attacked in her wheelchair while riding on the boardwalk — and a follow-up story on the two kindhearted teenagers who helped her get home.
Mayor Matthew Shoemaker stopped by our SooToday studio last week for an in-depth interview about his first six months in office. We asked him about safety issues downtown, and what he would say to the many Sault residents who are too afraid to even come to the city’s core.
Shoemaker reiterated his campaign promise to boost the police presence downtown, either in the form of a new headquarters or a downtown precinct. He also said he has met with Chief Hugh Stevenson about his idea and that the city’s top cop is on board.
“I’m hoping to make progress on it throughout the term: having a downtown police presence,” the mayor said. “I do not think that you’re going to arrest your way out of an addictions problem because it’s not a criminal justice issue. It’s a healthcare issue that needs a healthcare response. But having a police presence in the downtown area will reassure those people who say ‘I’m never going to go downtown’ that they are safe.”
You can watch the mayor’s full interview HERE.