Hamilton police ACTION team still can't crack Hess Village

The Hamilton Police ACTION team is four years old this month, and its managed to curb violent crime everywhere its targeted in the city.

Everywhere except Hess Village.

Crime in downtown Hamilton has decreased as a whole since the team hit the streets. Its also gone down in the McQueston and Concession Street areas.

But Hess Village seems immune to the efforts of the team, which wears yellow vests and patrols on foot and bicycle. Violent crime in the party district is the same as it was before the ACTION (Addressing Crime Trends In Our Neighbourhoods) team started.

Violent crime hasnt gone down, but you can imagine how it would be if they werent there.- Inspector Scott Rastin

Crimes such as homicides, assaults with weapons and sexual assault continue. Among recent events:18-year-old David Periera was stabbed to death last September, and in March, a brawl sent five people to hospital with knife wounds.

Its a complex issue, said Staff Sgt. Marty Schulenberg. Its as stubborn as it is because theres no one simple solution.

Hamilton as a whole saw the highest decrease in violent crime in the country in 2012. That included areas patrolled by the ACTION team. In downtown Hamilton, for example, violent crime cases went from 82 in 2009 to 52 in 2013. In McQueston, its decreased by nearly half.

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But in Hess Village, there were 63 instances of violent crime in the year before the ACTION team started. Last year saw the exact same number.

Hamilton Police have loaded the area with officers. On weekends, as many as a dozen special duty officers patrol the area, in addition to nine ACTION team members and two officers on horseback.

They patrol the perimeter throughout the evening and come into Hess Village around the time the bars close, Inspector Scott Rastin told the Hamilton police services board on Tuesday.

Legal battle over policing costs

The late-night disturbances in Hess Village happen very quickly, he said.

Violent crime hasnt gone down, but you can imagine how it would be if they werent there.

Last year, Hess Village club owners launched a legal battle with the city over tens of thousands of dollars in paid duty policing costs, a case thats still ongoing.

The current bylaw dictates that owners such as Dean Collett (Sizzle/Koi and Diavolo) have to foot the bill for extra policing costs. Collett was prepared to escalate the fight this month with an injunction blocking the city from forcing him to pay, but withdrew his application.

Coun. Terry Whitehead, a Ward 8 representative and member of the police services board, wants more answers about why violent crime in Hess Village is still high.

Hess Village 'an issue unto itself'

Hes long questioned the price tag of the ACTION team, as well as the areas it targets. Hess Village is an issue unto itself, he said.

Im curious about the paid duty officers and what their responsibilities are, he said. I want to know how that service is integrated with the ACTION team.

Culprits in Hess Village disturbances are often from out of town and are not invested in the community, Shulenberg said. They dont have ties here.

Future efforts, he said, will revolve around getting local groups together to talk about solutions.

The area sees a lot of alcohol and drug abuse, he said. Thats one of the things were looking at. How do you control the substance abuse?

Hess Village has seen decreases in other types of crime, such as robbery and auto theft, Rastin said in the presentation.

Since its launch in May 2010, the ACTION team has made 4,118 arrests and seized 166 firearms and $624,603 in drugs, a Hamilton Police Service report says.