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BARRHAVEN
Year 31 • issue 14
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Police say ‘no indicators’ that Barrhaven violence on rise By Charlie Senack
Orange ribbons and signs decorated this fence at Neil Nesbitt Park and others in Barrhaven on Canada Day as the community showed its support for Indigenous Canadians in the wake of the discoveries of bodies on the grounds of old residential schools. A Barrhaven woman is driving to Saskatchewan this week with gifts and messages of love and support from Barrhaven for the Cowessess First Nations community. For the full story, see page 5. Charlie Senack photo
FRIDAY • July 9 • 2021
Ottawa Police say there are currently “no indicators” to suggest the community is seeing an increase in violence, including swarmings, after a teen was seriously injured outside the Greenbank Farm Boy parking lot after being jumped in early June. The attack, which left a 16-year-old with a concussion and a broken nose, is just one of many incidents the Barrhaven Independent has heard of in recent months. Gloucester-South Nepean Councillor Carol Anne Meehan says her office has also heard of an increase in incidents over the past year, but Barrhaven Councillor Jan Harder says police tell her any incidents that are taking place are isolated. In an emailed response to the Barrhaven Independent, Ottawa Police offered little in the way of comments, but noted the skatepark on Ber-
rigan has been on their radar “for quite some time”, and that “patrol is very aware of the youth gathering there and do extra patrols when able.” Police have also noted that patrols in Barrhaven increased following the incident outside Farm Boy, and Councillor Harder said in her weekly newsletter that undercover police would also be monitoring the area. Many families the Barrhaven Independent spoke to who asked for their names not to be published, said their teens have been swarmed, beaten up, and had items stolen, adding they were randomized and untargeted attacks. Many of these incidents took place at the skatepark, various bus stations, and around the Marketplace parking lot. In the incident where a large group of teens swarmed a 16-year-old outside the Farm Boy, Councillor Harder said police have told her it was a targeted attack, and that the
individuals knew each other. Councillor Carol Anne Meehan says regardless of if the attacks are randomized or not, there is a cause for concern and that parents are worried. “They are disturbing, and I think one incident is too many,” Meehan told the Barrhaven Independent in an interview. “Too much can go wrong when kids are swarmed, whether it’s for their shoes, or their cell phone, or whatever.” Meehan, who also sits on the Police Services Board, has long advocated for more police resources in Barrhaven, and she says they are coming. “I have been talking in support of neighborhood police officers and we are going to be getting them,” she said. “The Deputy Police Chief gives me assurances that we are going to be getting them sooner rather than later.”
violence
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