Homeowners fed up with suspected drug houses could see more by-law officers helping police.
At-large Councillor Aldo Ruberto points out his motion at Monday night’s meeting is meant to increase by-law officers’ power, and enable them to gather information for police on areas where suspicious people often come and go near a resident’s home.
“I’ve got needles behind my house, I’ve got garbage thrown all over my street, I’ve got people fighting in front of my house. I never had that before. And now I’ve got this drug house. And the police, they do a terrific job,” adds the councillor.
He also says the idea is to expand their work hours beyond the current 4 o’clock in the afternoon.
“Hopefully we’ll have the power to shut a place down, board it up, do something, and do something more drastic. Society has got to step up and say ‘You know what? This behaviour will not be tolerated’,” says Ruberto.
The At-large councillor adds this wouldn’t just apply to drug houses, but anywhere homeowners are routinely bothered by neighbours, loud noises, or dogs barking.
“I’m not saying charge people if police come for an important matter. But if they’re called continuously for the same thing over and over again, then charge the person. Same with the ambulance, and same with the fire, which I think they do that already,” says the At-large councillor.
Ruberto adds he and a few other councillors are watching what other cities are doing to deal with similar repetitive nuisance calls. A reason he is doing this is to update by-laws that he says are years out of date, and he wants fines or punishments to keep escalating the more people cause trouble.
He also points out Thunder Bay has many social service workers who tirelessly work to help people, but it’s up to the people needing help to take it. The councillor points out the repetitive behaviours of some people, whether it’s drug pushers or those addicted to drugs, need to be addressed because it’s infringing on the rights of those who haven’t done anything wrong.
