Landlords in North Bay are concerned that the police aren’t responding to some of their calls but Police Chief Shawn Devine is assuring them this is not the case.
John Wilson who is a spokesman for the Near North Landlords Association says landlords run into problems on a regular basis including him but it seems calls to police go unanswered.
Wilson says recently two people in sleeping bags lay on the floor of the security doors of a building he manages.
That prompted one of Wilson’s tenants to call him who then called police in an attempt to remove the trespassers.
Wilson says police did not arrive and adds 20 minutes later the same tenant called him again.
“She said they’re still there and now they have needles in their arms,” Wilson told Moose News.
He called again and claims police again failed to respond.
Wilson says the same couple was back at the same building on another occasion and when he called police they responded but not until the pair had left.
Police Chief Shawn Devine is aware of the drug incident Wilson relayed to Moose News.
However Devine says the reason why police did not respond right away had nothing to do with a lack of interest.
“The reality is if we have three or four other calls that are a priority, like an injury, a break and enter or a mental health call, that takes precedence over other matters,” said Devine.
Devine says his officers did respond to Wilson’s call about 45 minutes after it came in.
He adds there was no way for a quicker response simply because other priority calls took precedence.
Devine is meeting with the association on April 11th to explain why there are times some police arrivals can’t happen immediately.
He will also suggest that all parties have to work together and there are times when some calls like noise won’t get a response unless it’s criminal in nature or the matter turns violent.