黑料吃瓜网

Thu Bui says she鈥檚 grown 鈥渘umb鈥� to the stressors in her line of work.

She's a clerk at Yellowknife's downtown Reddimart. Homeless people will often surround the store's perimeter and steal items, she said. Bui estimated that she calls 911 around six times a month.

Local businesses are calling on the RCMP to boost their visibility downtown. A  released by the city notes that, as part of improving safety and livability downtown, one recommendation businesses made was for RCMP and bylaw officers to boost their presence through bike and foot patrols. 

"Several participants recommended introducing a bike patrol or similar presence to increase visibility and proactive safety downtown. Suggestions included using RCMP or bylaw officers who can engage with businesses, monitor key areas and respond quickly to emerging issues," the report reads.

Bui said she wasn't sure if Reddimart took part in the city's findings. A born and raised Yellowknife resident, she told 黑料吃瓜网 on July 18 she's been working at the store for about a decade. Whether more RCMP officers downtown could make a difference, she said she doesn't know. 

Bui said it would be nice to see more police, but due to current restraints in their workforce 鈥� Yellowknife RCMP are short about one third of their staff 鈥� it's unlikely that will happen, she said. And from what she has seen so far from police, it's not enough to convince her that more of them could make a serious change.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Bui said things are getting worse when it comes to Yellowknife's homeless population and she's noticed an uptick in the illicit drug trade. 

"There's been a huge increase in drug activity in general," said Bui. "Everyone's minds have been deteriorating because of the drugs."

Bui added that she's noticed the people doing drugs are getting younger. If police are to do anything, she wants to see a harder crackdown on drug use. 

Ultimately, Bui said she wishes the city's homeless population the best, and for individuals struggling with their mental health and addictions to get better. But, with how deep-rooted some of the city's economic and social problems are, she said she isn't sure the city or the territorial government will ever fully solve the issue.

黑料吃瓜网 approached other downtown businesses representatives for comment. Some declined, citing fears of backlash for speaking critically about homelessness and a general belief that nothing will change.

City asked for more patrols

The municipal government also asked police to boost their visibility downtown in June from 52 Avenue to Franklin Avenue and from 47 Street to 52 Street. The RCMP said they would try and do that, but the response has so far been limited. Yellowknife RCMP told 黑料吃瓜网 they have no mathematical way of proving they boosted police visibility in the downtown core compared to years prior.

"Bike and foot patrols are not recorded in our police reporting system, so we can鈥檛 give you an exact figure of how many we conducted in 2024 or how many we conducted so far this year," said RCMP media relations officer Julie Plourde.

Police started tracking their foot and bike patrols in June, according to Plourde, but noted they don鈥檛 have the means to log them routinely.