Saint John security pilot shows early success

A recent update on Saint John’s community safety team shows the pilot project is easing pressure on police resources.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, the team provided a two‑month update on its work.

During the presentation, Benn Purinton, the city’s manager of community standards compliance, said data collected so far suggests the pilot is proving successful.

“We’re still very much in the early phase of this pilot program,” Purinton said. “But in the first seven weeks we are reporting on, the service is functioning as intended and is providing practical value within the service area.”

In December, the city announced the launch of a community safety team pilot program and a community resilience fund in response to concerns about safety and disorder in Waterloo Village, uptown Saint John and the Thorne Avenue–Rothesay Avenue corridor.

GardaWorld was awarded a $780,000 annual contract to provide a 24/7, non‑police presence to patrol those areas and respond to non‑emergency issues. The team began work on Feb. 2.

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During that period, Purinton said the team responded to 69 service calls, completed 93 public assists, conducted 109 wellness checks in public spaces, returned 39 shopping carts and collected 216 sharps.

He said the team maintained an average response time of under five minutes for service calls.

Of the 69 service calls and 109 wellness checks, only nine incidents were escalated to police and 911, Purinton said.

He said the low escalation rate shows most situations are being handled without police involvement, fulfilling one of the team’s “core objectives.”

“It indicates that a visible presence and a voluntary‑compliance‑first approach can resolve many lower‑level concerns effectively, while supporting police capacity to focus on higher‑priority issues,” Purinton said.

Beyond the numbers, he added the team has received positive feedback from the community.

“We consistently hear that people are happy with the service and glad to have the team around,” he said.

Team looking to increase awareness of the service

Purinton said winter conditions posed some challenges, as extended periods of snow, cold and freezing rain reduced foot traffic and activity in public spaces. Despite that, he said the team has demonstrated “steady use and visible value.”

As the weather improves, Purinton expects demand for the service to increase, adding that early signs of that trend have already appeared in recent weeks.

He said the next step is to increase awareness of the service within the pilot area through targeted mail‑outs to residents, businesses and institutions.

The goal is to help the public better understand what the service provides, when to use it and how to contact the team, he said.

Purinton added the city is also looking to improve data collection to provide more detailed service information, including heat mapping, activity trends and call‑time types.

Possible expansion of patrol areas

During the question period, Coun. Paula Radwan asked whether there were plans to expand the pilot to include Saint John’s North End, citing a recent uptick in activity in that area.

Mayor Donna Reardon said an expansion is not off the table but added it would be best to complete the pilot before making any decisions.

She said the next council will decide whether to continue or expand the program and whether there are opportunities to work with other security providers operating in the city.

“There’s all kinds of possibilities with this, but first we need to understand if we’re getting value for the taxpayers’ money,” Reardon said.

More in‑depth report coming

During the meeting, the motion by Coun. Greg Norton to have the team report at all public safety committee meetings passed without objection.

Norton proposed the notice of motion in March 23 council meeting.

In an interview with Acadia Broadcasting on March 25, Norton said to justify the use of taxpayer dollars, it was necessary for council to receive regular reports of the services provided by the team.

Purinton said the team is going to present a more in-depth 90-day update at the next public safety committee meeting at the end of April.