Councillors supported Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis in his resolution to hire an external expert to help beef up security at City facilities at a Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.
The resolution calls to hire an external expert that will conduct a Threat, Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (TRVA) that will be due by the end of 2023.
Between a rise in gun crime in the country, mental health issues and the lack of support as well as a growing substance abuse crisis, there can often be unpredictable behaviour in certain individuals.
“I know we want to maintain an openness and welcomeness to the public but at the same time we have an obligation to protect our staff and those who come into our buildings, it’s time that we take a look at this,” said Davis. “I’m not prejudging this or saying where it should go and what should happen, but I think it’s time given everything that’s happened in our society and how the world is changing – there’s an obligation we have to protect the safety of those who work in this building [City Hall] who visit in this building that it’s time we took a look at it.”
The review is set to cost no more than $20,000 but several councillors were surprised by the price and would support adding more money depending on the findings.
While City Hall has a number of security policies in place like security guards, panic and intrusion alarms, physical barriers and CCTV cameras there are many city buildings that lack the same security measures.
The plan will be to start by analyzing room for improvement at City Hall but will investigate improving security for other city employees and customers.
“I wonder if staff could provide us some sort of an overview of how you might proceed through our roster of workplaces that are accessible to the public and what the plan might be to carry on,” said Councillor Dan McCreary.
Councillor Richard Carpenter agreed with McCreary to look into other locations other than just the City Hall.
“This is certainly more than worthwhile,” he said. “I know the Mayor says he didn’t want to say the city has changed but the city has changed – we’ve grown dramatically and a lot of people from other municipalities have discovered Branford but so have the criminals. …, The risk is greater now and there’s no question about that and I think Councillor McCreary is right, we need to do a risk assessment and analysis to make sure that we were making all our workplaces as safe as we can for everybody not just for those visiting.”
Councillor John Sless agreed that it is only a matter of time before something happens and that it was smart to be thinking ahead.
Final approval of the security review will happen at a city council meeting at a later date.
