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The Heritage Community Association hopes the neighbourhood isn’t seen in a negative light after a worker was allegedly attacked near the General Hospital earlier this week.
On Friday, the association’s executive director Kathleen Wilson spoke to the media about some of the concerns she’s been hearing from residents of the community.
“I’ve heard a lot of feedback from residents this week who are concerned about crime and safety, but are also very concerned with how the neighbouhood has actually been talked about this week.”
More than 5,000 people live in the neighbourhood, located east of downtown bounded by Broad Street, College Avenue, Winnipeg Street, the CPR main line, as well as the area east of Winnipeg Street to Arcola Avenue, north of Victoria Avenue.
Wilson said there has been a lot of strides in the past few years to make the neighbourhood safer, and she fears the worker’s story is dampening that.
“It’s around building community, making safer community spaces, drawing people to the neighbourhood for good activities and good things happening.”
The worker had spoken to reporters about fighting off two men who were trying to rob him. The incident was reported to police, and on Friday, Staff Sergeant Lorilee Davies confirmed the worker’s report is being actively investigated.
“The details surrounding this incident still aren’t completely known but we are continuing to look into it.”
Davies said police believe what happened to the worker is an isolated incident and not indicative of the area it happened in.
“We know that the crime statistics show us that violent crime in the are where this incident occured has dropped dramatically since last year. We’ve seen a reduction of 20 per cent in relation to reported violent crimes in the area around the General Hospital. That doesn’t mean that our work is done.”
Davies outlined how the Regina Police Service has made sure to have a highly visible presence in the neighbourhood, and has monitored its calls for service to determine where their resources are needed most.
Wilson said working with the police is a key step to continue to make the neighbourhood safer, but she knows they can’t do it alone.
“We need to work with the hospital to help make our community safer; it’s not just a hospital problem, it’s our entire community.”
