Drew Dilkens is promising to implement a plan focused on increasing community safety and security if he’s re-elected mayor of Windsor.
During a news conference Thursday outside Windsor Police Headquarters, Dilkens detailed his “Safety First” plan to reinforce crime prevention, security concerns, and targets for enhanced safety.
The plan includes building a Real-Time Operations Centre for the Windsor Police Service and expanding the Project Greenlight security camera program currently in downtown Windsor throughout all Business Improvement Areas (BIAs).
A real-time operations centre would pull together a number of resources, including access to city traffic cameras.
“It really is in terms of modern policing; it’s the way things are going to go; it’s just a matter of how fast you get there,” says Dilkens. “I want to make sure Windsor is there sooner rather than later, and I’m committed the funding is there to get it over the finish line.”
The centre is already in the early stages of development by the Windsor Police Service, but Dilkens says it will require a number of resources, including finances.
While he did not provide an estimated cost for the real-time operations centre, Dilkens did indicate it would be millions of dollars and that federal and provincial funding options would be explored to help reduce the cost.
“It allows us to take the resources that we have from a policing perspective, which are expensive. Police are expensive resources that the city has to pay for, but it allows us to use those in a more effective way and be able to deploy them to respond to calls in a timelier and more responsible manner, making sure the right number of resources are attending any call that comes for service,” he says.
Dilkens says a real-time operations centre would help police respond to calls in an intelligent way.
“Either with fewer or more officers as required. This is a costly initiative, but it’s one I think is really paramount to actually get implemented in the city of Windsor because it allows us to use digital tools and electronic tools to respond with our resources, which are limited, in a more effective way,” he says.
Other measures he’s vowing to implement include extending proactive by-law outreach into all wards, to include public health and nursing staff to address areas of concern in real time, expanding traffic calming measures in all wards and building towards full implementation of Vision Zero, adding additional active transportation features like sidewalks and bike lanes to Windsor’s collector roads, including additional street lighting, and implementing a zero-tolerance initiative for hate, harassment, and intimidation, ensuring that hate-motivated crimes are treated seriously and consistently.
The 11 candidates running for Windsor mayor are Benjamin Danyluk, Aaron Day, Drew Dilkens (incumbent), Fred Francis, Dylon Graves, Tara Grayer, Nick Kolasky, Tristan Ty Morencie, Kat Pasquach, Patrick Sutherland, and Louis Vaupotic.
The municipal election is set to take place October 26.