A Timmins Police officer says you see a lot on foot patrol that you don’t necessarily see from a marked vehicle.
Const. Stephanie Brown is in her third year with TPS. She walks a beat mostly downtown, because that’s an area identified as high crime and drug use.
She says walking the beat, officers can be first on the scene of an overdose or even a car accident. Not to put too fine a point on it, but that can mean life or death.
“If you happen to be in the right place at the right time, and it does happen sometime when you’re walking the beat downtown,” Const. Brown remarks, “that you see things that normally you wouldn’t maybe see if you’re driving in a cruiser.”
(Bob McIntyre, MyTimminsNow.com staff)
Brown says discarded needles are a major concern. Officers on the beat pick them up and safely dispose of them.
She adds that downtown isn’t the only beat, and public reaction is good.
“Actually this morning, myself and another officer, we were walking around Gillies Lake and we had many people approach us saying good morning, it was nice to see that we were out on Gillies Lake walking the path around there.”
The Gillies Lake path is where discarded needles are often found, as well as homeless people sheltering there or in nearby private yards.