Downtown crime taking toll on Windsor shop owners

Henry Kim has had people throw firecrackers at him while leaving his cafe on Pelissier Street. The window in his car has also been smashed.

As a downtown resident and business owner, Kim has grown increasingly frustrated with the drug use and vandalism in the core. And he's not alone.

• Residents want trashy areas of downtown cleaned up
• Goose droppings, construction leave riverfront visitors scratching heads and scraping shoes

Other shop owners say they have considered moving out of the core because they don't have any hope of things getting any better.

Many of the entrepreneurs regularly deal with urine and feces in the back alleys, open drug use, discarded needles and vandalism.

"If I didn'thave this (business) going on, I wouldn'tlive downtown," Kim said. "It's very discouraging and frustrating."

Daniel Bombardier, an artist working out of a downtown studio, has seen many of the neighbouring businesses get broken into, with items stolen. Needles strewn on the streets and in alleys are getting out of control, he told CBC News.

"I hate talking about this stuff about my downtown. We should be proud of our downtown. We shouldn't have to worry about this on this level."

Kim is familiar with the burglaries as well. Several times, he's had people try to break into his coffee shop.

"A lot of people try to break-in but luckily we had the security system and the cameras so they couldn't," he said. "But we've had a lot of attempts where we had to come and stop them."

Where's the enforcement?

Bombardier wants to see more enforcement and more political support from city hall when it comes to protecting the ongoing rejuvenation of the downtown. He and other business owners say they are neglected by police and city officials.

"Our downtown is not big, it's not an unmanageable situation," he said. "We just don't understand why we're being ignored."

Windsor police say they have plenty of resources in the downtown with officers on foot, on bikes and in cruisers. Police are also involved with community groups in the downtown in order to stay on top of the latest issues, according to Const. Andrew Drouillard.

"When they hear concerns from area residents they are checking those areas and they are giving it special attention to ensure the safety of everyone in the area," he said.

Drouillard also urges business owners and residents to call them anytime there is property crime because it allows them to keep track of where incidents are happening.