Hamilton council calls for security cameras in John Rebecca Park

Pat Reid seems to appear out of nowhere to hand out biscuits and wraps to a clutch of men sitting in John Rebecca Park on a scorching morning in downtown Hamilton.

The senior who lives in a nearby CityHousing apartment block makes the weedy, debris-strewn expanse part of her regular rounds.

The men - struggling with homelessness, mental illness and addiction - welcome her gesture of kindness with thanks.

Reid isn't a big fan of city council's decision to install security cameras in the park in an effort to deter criminal activity.

Let's dehumanize people more," says Reid, leaning on her walker. It just breaks my heart."

Not everyone - including city politicians - share her take.

This week, council backed spending up to $35,000 to install cameras in the park, which opened in 2019 across the street from social-service agency Wesley Urban Ministries.

In a lengthy motion, Coun. Jason Farr listed a litany of issues in the park, including theft, vandalism, alcohol and drug use, violence, graffiti, litter, defecation, urination and harassment of city staff and businesses.

Farr said the park's metal chairs and spray-pad parts have been repeatedly vandalized and stolen," which is why the city hasn't replaced them and the water features have remained inoperable.

CCTV cameras have helped address graffiti and vandalism by punks" in two Ward 6 parks, Coun. Tom Jackson said. "It has been a heck of a lot safer and it's much better."

In an interview, Farr said he absolutely" recognizes that addiction and mental illness are at the core of the problems in the downtown park.

But he hopes the cameras will encourage sober second thought" to deter criminal activity and help police investigate should it occur.

I understand that there's folks that are not causing any crime, and they're definitely not causing any crime sitting in the park."

The veteran Ward 2 councillor said city outreach workers are regularly in the park to help direct people to shelter.

It would be nice - and some are - if more people take us up on the help that we're offering on a regular basis, repeatedly."

People who sleep outside say they avoid shelters for a variety of reasons, including addiction and mental illness, but also fear of theft, pests and coronavirus during the pandemic.

Richard Dickson, one of the men who accepts a snack from Reid, says he's been homeless off and on for 35 years. He has a large dent on the right side of his head where he says a tumour was removed.

I don't get a lot of sleep. I get rest," says Dickson, 51, noting he stays in the park overnight and hunkers down elsewhere outdoors.

Cameras in the park will do nothing to solve the issues, of which the most crucial is homelessness, Dickson says.

I think it's a waste of taxpayers' money to tell you the truth," he says. Cameras aren't going to deter us from doing dope."

Dickson and others who gather in the park visit Wesley Urban Ministries' day centre, which offers an array of services, from food to showers, across Catharine Street North.

Executive director Don Seymour is also skeptical cameras will solve any problems. I just think it's just another in a long line of unworkable solutions that are ignoring the root causes of what's going on there," Seymour said.

You've got a combination of gentrification, a lack of housing and very sick people," he added. Incidents happen. They happen everywhere."

In an email, police spokesperson Jackie Penman noted in recent years, there has been a marked increase in the complaints from neighbours and businesses surrounding the park.

These complaints relate to drug use, disorderly behaviour, violence, vandalism, public urination and defecation."

Likewise, the city says it has fielded numerous complaints" about tents, garbage, debris and potential risks to health and safety" in the park, where bylaw and police officers attend to encourage voluntary compliance" with anti-camping rules.

Nightclub operator Paul McDonald says he can attest to the problems.

These people are disrespectful and don't want to follow rules," said McDonald, who runs Club Seventy Seven and Dirty Dog Saloon, which back onto the park.

My cleaner will have to come in and clean up human feces in piles on our front doorstep. That's a regular thing," he said.

Those kind of expenses aren't built into your financial model," McDonald said, noting security cameras on his building have captured footage of assaults in the park.

Club Seventy Seven itself has been the focus of complaints by area residents about late-night rowdiness and violence spilling into the streets.

McDonald acknowledges some patrons urinate outside, but they don't defecate on the side of his building.

And fights do break out, he says.

Do I have response to that? Yeah, I've got 30 guards that will come out and make sure that that fight's extinguished pretty quickly."

Cameron Kroetsch, who's running against Farr in the Oct. 24 municipal election, questions how surveillance cameras will help solve problems in the park.

What this says is we're now going to watch you more," Kroetsch said.

That's not going to make them feel any better. That's not going to make them feel a sense of support. It's only going to make them feel more stressed out, more tense and create more problems."

In a prepared statement, Raquel Rakovac, another Ward 2 candidate, likewise said she didn't believe cameras would serve as a deterrent.

Continuing to criminalize those in poverty will only continue to divide our community. The main concern is poverty, lack of housing and adequate support."

The city, meanwhile, is urging the provincial government to provide the city with health dollars to provide the necessary support services to help keep people with complex needs housed.

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com