Ottawa police have introduced a new education initiative for the start of the 2013 orientation week, targeting safety issues often encountered by large amounts of off-campus students.
The awareness campaign focuses on issues of noise, drinking, small mischief, and theft, problems that police said are common throughout the school year in areas with heavy student populations. The initiative aims to lessen these types of incidents before they happen by educating students, according to Const. Ryan Pierce, one of the officers heading the program.
“We’re doing as much outreach as we can, on a proactive basis, before really focusing on the enforcement aspect,” Pierce said.To do this, officers are active in neighbourhoods that have large student populations, going door-to-door in some cases to introduce students to various noise bylaws and other “common missteps,” Pierce said.
He noted they have also handed out informational packets, and additional information is available in the University of Ottawa bookstore and online.
“There are entertainment districts throughout Ottawa that cater to folks who want to go out and have a good time, and that’s the place to do it,” Pierce said. “Not next door to someone who’s potentially trying to put their newborn baby to bed at 9 p.m. at night.”
Similar issues exist on campus, according to Mark Hargreaves, the community liaison officer for Carleton University’s safety department. Hargreaves said campus safety seeks to educate students in a similar manner regarding noise levels.
“Most times, [students] don’t realize the amount of noise that they are making, so when someone identifies that to them, they’re pretty positive, and react to that and take care of it themselves,” Hargreaves said.
Pierce said the problem simply boils down to being a good neighbour. While off-campus students need to be respectful toward families they may be bothering, on-campus students should be equally aware of their fellow students who may be trying to sleep, he said.
”They’re here to get an education,” Pierce said. “They’re just as upset as families who live near off-campus students when on a Wednesday night, at three in the morning, there’s still a loud party happening next door,” he added. “We’re not trying to say ‘don’t have fun,’” Pierce said. “We’re not the anti-fun police, we’re just trying to say, be respectful to your neighbours.”
—with files from Sheheryar Ahmed
