Kris Austin on tour to market crime-reduction plan to N.B. officials

New Brunswick's public safety minister has embarked on a tour of the province to elicit feedback from local officials on how he plans to tackle crime.

Kris Austin was in Miramichi recently for the first of 12 stops to market his "safer communities action plan."

Department of Public Safety spokesperson Allan Dearing said Austin was unavailable last week for an interview about the meetings. CBC News later asked Dearing for any information about the meetings but he did not respond.

However, parts of Austin's presentation were shared on Facebook by Miramichi MLA Michelle Conroy.

"We had a great turnout of officers, medics and first responders last night at the Crime Reduction meeting in Newcastle with Minister Kris Austin, Deputy Minister Mike Comeau and the team from [the Department] of Public Safety," said Conroy, in her online post.

"This was their first meeting of 12 across the province for discussions on what is being done and what more can be done to reduce crime in NB."

CBC News also requested an interview with Conroy about the meeting, but did not receive a response.

Compassionate Intervention Act to be proposed

As part of her post, Conroy shared pictures of slides from the presentation.

One of them, titled "Safer Communities Action Plan Items," showed a table with a series of strategic priorities along with timelines for implementing them.

The priorities were split into four categories around added law enforcement, increased partnerships, modernizing legislation and optimizing the criminal justice system.

Some of the priorities have been previously shared by the province, including the plan to hire 80 more RCMP officers, as well as equipping peace officers with carbines and Tasers.

Other priorities hadn't been publicly shared before, such as a plan to propose a "Compassionate Intervention Act" by the end of October.

Other items not revealed before included a "trespass proposal," a "security guard proposal," the creation of a central New Brunswick correctional centre, as well as a "specialized policing model."

Conroy also posted a photo showing a slide titled "Crime Rate and Policing Trends," which showed statistics on New Brunswick's crime rate, its rate of police officers per 100,000 people and the rate of crimes solved, compared to the national average.

Tour comes amid dissatisfaction with police services

Austin's tour is the latest in his government's tough-on-crime approach, which has taken particular aim at stamping out illegal drugs by going after alleged dealers.

It's also happening amid dissatisfaction with policing services in the province — particularly the Mounties, who provide policing to the City of Moncton and to smaller municipalities not covered by a municipal police force.

High-profile acts of vigilante justice in the past year have shone a spotlight on that dissatisfaction, with Saint Andrews Mayor Brad Henderson saying in July that public confidence in police in his community was "at an all-time low."

A positive perspective

Jeffrey Sheasgreen, a Miramichi River Valley councillor, has a more positive perspective on the crime and policing situation in his newly formed municipality, which is just west of Miramichi.

He attended the meeting in Miramichi last week and said he was pleased with what he heard.

"I think the RCMP, and all all our peace officers and stuff, are doing a great job and, you know, I think the plan going forward is good," Sheasgreen said.

"If we're employing more people, more officers, then of course that's going to help us, right? It's going to get a better feeling from people in the public when they see more police officers on the go all the time."

Sheasgreen said Austin also discussed plans to provide more assistance to places like Harvest House Miramichi, which offer help for those facing addiction and homelessness.

Last spring, the provincial government announced it was spending $32.6 million to hire 80 more RCMP officers and increase police visibility.

The province also announced it was increasing its funding for various addiction and mental health supports by $5.1 million and was putting $3.7 million toward reducing the rates of inmates re-offending.