THUNDER BAY — Police response times were one of the biggest issues raised at police chief Darcy Fleury's latest public engagement session.
Fleury continued his Chat with the Chief tour, talking with community members to address their policing concerns at the Brodie Resource Library Wednesday evening.
Sierra Spicer was one of the people who asked the police chief about response times.
“As a mental health worker in private practice and a small business owner, I often work in isolation and there was an event recently where I had to call the police in a crisis,” Spicer told Dougall Media.
She didn’t go into much detail about the situation, but Spicer said she wasn't able to communicate with the police effectively to actually get a quick response.
Spicer said she appreciated Fleury’s response, suggesting the police could create a text line for situations that would warrant the need, to minimize further harm.
Fleury said these public chats grant them the opportunity to gather feedback to better service the community, as well as heighten the police service's visibility.
“We're having good reception and I think we're hearing from the people as to some of the more urgent pieces that they'd like to have addressed,” said Fleury.
He said gathering feedback from the public is part of the Thunder Bay Police Service Board's strategic plan, which also feeds into the police service's action plan.
“We hear from the community as to what they are seeing, what they would like to have. So, we can go back and take a good look at where we are as far as priorities go,” said Fleury.
Fleury said there will be more Chats with the Chief in the new year.
