TAKING AIM AT CRIME

Complaints of drug dealing and loitering on downtown streets were the
top concerns of businesses during a crime prevention seminar held
Friday morning.

"I've been watching people shoot up or use (crystal) meth right
outside the door," said a restaurant manager, who didn't want her or
her business identified.

"Last week alone we had to call the (police) complaint line three
times."

It's happening during the middle of the day, and some customers are
afraid.

But since the drug deals are outside the restaurant, it isn't
considered an urgent threat for police to attend immediately, she said
during the seminar at Red Deer Public Library, held in response to an
assault and robbery at a downtown business.

RCMP Insp. Peter Calvert said the time it takes police to respond does
cause "a lot of angst" but police get there as quickly as they can.
"That's the tradeoff we have right now with our resource level and the
call volume we receive," Calvert said.

Last Saturday, Delicates Bra Boutique owner Sharon Fisher was beaten
by a man who tried to rob her in her shop in Town Centre Mall. She
hospitalized with a broken bone under her eye, and multiple bruises to
her face and body.

City councillor Lorna Watkinson-Zimmer, a long-time downtown retailer,
said downtown benches are frequently used by people who are
intoxicated or on drugs.

She'd like to see business people gather together and take back the
streets, by meeting in groups outside and using the benches and parks
themselves.

"We need to have a quiet revolution right in our city," said
Watkinson-Zimmer. "The police can't do everything and we have to take
back our downtown.

The Downtown Business Association organized the seminar to encourage
businesses to be proactive in crime prevention.

Calvert urged business owners to visit and communicate regularly with
each other.

No one heard the screams when Fisher was attacked because her shop
door was closed, and so were the doors of other stores in the mall.

He said everyone has to decide for themselves what they need to do to
be safe, but he was pleased about 50 people came out to the seminar.

Buck Buchanan, of X-Cops Inc. security firm, said it was unfortunate
Fisher didn't have a panic button to alert police faster.

"Odds are, he probably would have been arrested by now," Buchanan
said.

Ralph Cervi, also from X-Cops, said people have to be on the lookout
for abnormal behaviour. The attacker at Delicates Bra Boutique was
only wearing a shirt and hoodie on a cold day, and men aren't the
usual customers at lingerie shops.

Cervi also said the desperate need for retail workers is an
opportunity for people with criminal intentions to apply for jobs to
scope out businesses to rob.

He advocated criminal checks for new employees, proper staff safety
training, and high quality digital security cameras positioned for
clear images.

"You can't keep doing it the way you've always done it. Things are
changing."