Calls to City Police decreased by 23 per cent from 2009 to 2014 with robberies down 66 per cent, assaults by 24 per cent, break and enters by 37 per cent and motor vehicle thefts by 38 per cent.
The Police Commission has been told a big reason why is preventive policing with Community Police Officers engaging neighbourhoods and building up relationships. Sergeant David Hartley-Brown says preventing crime takes a lot of time and work to build up those relationships so people trust you and might take more resources to do that effectively than just reacting to crime when it happens.
The Police Commission has been told it would be a mistake to look at the drop in crime and come to the conclusion police budgets can be cut.
Meantime, various community organisations are getting together with City Police to apply for federal funding aimed at helping sex trade workers get off the street.
The funding is being made available in light of the revamping of prostitution laws after the Supreme Court struck down the previous statutes.
Sergeant Jim Fleming goes out of his way to clear up what he says is a gross misperception some people might have about prostitution being in any way glamourous in Saint John, saying street level sex trade workers in the city lead tragic lives characterised by drug addiction, mental health problems and abuse.
