At today’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting, the Moose Jaw Police Service revealed that they’ve been conducting a project in Crescent Park to determine if there is an issue with encampments.
The 21-day project took place Oct. 7 through Oct. 28, after concerns from the public about perceived encampments in the park, with regular checks undertaken by police during the day and night to look for shelters and tents in the area.
“During that time, there was a total of six different people that were found staying overnight in the park,” explained Acting Superintendent Trish Seman.
“The maximum amount of people there were four, and on some occasions, there was nobody in the park.”
She added that police made efforts to identify and track the six people, with only two out of the six found in the park on more than two occasions.
She said that police did not note any structures in the park until the final days of the project, when a shelter constructed with a hanging tarp was seen by the waterfall and was being used by two people as a temporary camp.
“It doesn’t support the significance of an encampment problem in Crescent Park. The two individuals that had been occupying Crescent Park – they are currently unhoused, and they are still unhoused,” said Seman.
The two people were asked to remove the shelter on Oct. 29. “Consequently, there was another check done on Nov. 3, and they were noted in the park with some personal property, but there was no shelter found.”
The area was checked again on Nov. 4, with belongings found again. “A tarp was up, but it was taken down immediately, and following that check, City Bylaw actually attended to Crescent Park and removed all the belongings from the park,” explained Seman.
Seman said that steps are being taken to assist the two individuals in accessing supports. “The Moose Jaw Police Service has arranged to speak with other agencies within our city to try to assess if there’s anything more we can do.”
Seman pointed to assistance via Social Services, Moose Jaw Housing, and the John Howard Society, and said the two have been staying at Willow Lodge. She added that Willow Lodge does not have the capacity to take a lot of belongings in, which can be an issue when people are unhoused.
While the project has concluded, police said they will continue to keep an eye on the park.
Deputy Chief Rick Johns said that part of the reason for the project was to look into anecdotal discussions about people and tents in the park. “We just wanted to get a snapshot in time, just to get an accurate reflection as to what’s really going on in the park, versus what we’re hearing in the community.”
Commissioner Crystal Froese pointed to Willow Lodge only being open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily, and said there is a question about where people will go in the winter outside of those hours. “Really hoping the province looks at opening up Willow [Lodge] for 24 hours a day so that we can look after these people.”
Police Chief Rick Bourassa reiterated that while structures are not allowed to be constructed in Crescent Park, people are allowed to be in the park. “When we have people in the park that are at risk, then we try to connect them to the right supports.”
Bourassa asked that people reach out to police if they come across possible encampments in area parks.