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By Michelle Hampson - September 7, 2010
Dalhousie and the Halifax Regional Police have a designated police patrol for the neighborhoods near Dalhousie and the University of King's College. Called Operation Fallback, Halifax Regional Police runs the patrols Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays evenings throughout the month of September. In October, the patrols continue with Dalhousie footing the bill. (The patrol car will also be in the neighbourhood on Munro Day and St. Patrick's Day.)
As students arrived on campus for the fall term, student writer Michelle Hampson asked students for their opinion on the police patrols.
| I think it’s great. It’s really comforting because I’m a first-year student. I was really happy to hear that. Moving to a new place, it’s nice. - Olivia McGinn, 18, first-year theatre student | ||
| It’s probably a good thing. Why not? Better safe than sorry. - Jamie Charlebois, 25, Master'ss of Development Economics | ||
| If I don’t cause them trouble, they don’t cause me trouble. - Fahad Kabir, 22, fifth year, History and Political Science, combined honours | ||
| I think it’s great. I like to see some kind of enforcement around. Some people view it negatively like, “OK they’re just trying to bust out and ruin our parties.” But I think it’s more of a safety issue because when people are out partying, it is more likely to happen on those nights, so to have the extra help there to watch over it, I think it’s a good thing to have them around. - Tim Hiltz, 23, fourth-year kinesiology | ||
| That’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned. - Jen Kelly, 29, doing her Phd in marine biology | ||
| I just moved here, so I don’t really know. I think it’s safer. - Ainsa Hepburn, 18, second year arts student | ||
| It’s a good idea. I mean I know there are people around in the south-end area who were worried about break-ins to womens’ apartments and stuff last year. - Jordan Leblanc, 22
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| Dal Security does its best by enforcing order on the weekends that it’s working, but it can be more beneficial to the students if it [the heavier security] is expanded throughout the week. - Ali Baker, 20, fourth year student in Business Management |
Join the discussion. What do you think about Operation Fallback?
Readers Say
September 8, 2010 1:51 PM
September 8, 2010 10:17 PM
September 9, 2010 12:03 AM
September 9, 2010 7:23 AM
- Why are the patrols not here all year long?
- Why are they only at the beginning of the year and on key holidays?
- Is it just a coincidence that these are key student party times?
I feel like we are being dishonest to our students, and insulting their intelligence, by trying to spin this as a student safety initiative when the real driving force ( i.e. neighbourhood relations ) is very obvious.
Check our own security bulletins:
- Jun 26 : B&E + Assault
- Mar 21 : Flasher
- Jan 16, Jul 7, & Aug 6 '09 : B&E + Assault
- May 22-23 '09 : Theft
If the patrols are here for student safety, why are they not here all year?
September 9, 2010 9:02 AM
The thing is that these patrols ARE needed. Students don't realize that it may be their one-night-out-on-the-town but for the neighbours, there is a never-ending stream of students out partying from year-to-year-to-year. It gets old. Sleep is constantly disrupted, property is damaged, garbage is strewn about. But if students are breaking the law and the community is upset about it, the police should be using taxpayer money (after all South-enders have plenty of it) to fund the extra presence.
September 10, 2010 3:15 PM
It is a significant investment the university makes and it has improved the relationship between the community and the university. The designated patrol continues the efforts of Halifax Regional Police's Operation Fall Back which operates Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in September. There is still policing in this area but Dal and the police have increased the efforts during key times during the year (Sept. - Nov.) and key holidays. Officers respond to concerns in the community and provide valuable education. It is also interesting to note that there is a dramatic drop in ticketing during the October patrols, indicating that the work done in September is effective.