[B]Some Saint John pub owners object to initiative[/B]

[IMG]http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/topstories/2010/05/17/tp-nb-saint-john-uptown.jpg[/IMG]
Some bar owners in Saint John say they shouldn't have to pay extra for boosted police presence in the uptown area.


Saint John, N.B., police will increase their presence in the city's bar district after pub owners agreed to pay for extra enforcement.

The force is now sending out two officers beyond its regular number. Both will be dedicated to the uptown bar scene.

The initiative was first tested a year ago with O'Leary's Pub.

Kevin Ferguson, one of the owners of O'Leary's, paid for two officers to patrol the nearby streets over the course of four nights.

Ferguson said this week that their presence made an impact on patrons, especially at closing time.

"They just didn't stay around in groups, talking, where something could possibly happen," he said.

Ferguson said he paid between $200 and $300 each night to secure the foot patrols. That cost will now be split between eight bars.

"Personally, I feel that a little bit of my responsibility is to get involved and pay a little bit more," he said.

[B]Undivided attention[/B]


Staff Sgt. Jim Fleming said there is value in devoting police to a specific area.

"The people have sunk a lot of money into these [bars] and they are not the kind of places that want fights," he said.

"They don't want patrons to come out and have their cars damaged. If that happens, we're going to have boarded-up buildings."

Fleming said until this week, police had to juggle patrols of the club district with other parts of the city.

He said thanks to the outside funding, rowdy bar crowds will have the undivided attention of police.

Some bar owners object to the plan. Peter Smit of Happinez Wine Bar said police should patrol the bar area without extra money from business owners.

"I do pay my taxes in a fair amount and I don't think we have to pay for a service that should be there," he said.

"If you look around other cities in the world, there is police presence at night and I don't think the bar owners pay for that."

不公平。我的酒吧我就不打算负这个钱。 我交了那么多的税。 警察应该负起这个责任。 走路巡逻是应该的。那么多的警察那么胖。就当减肥了。保护地方治安是他们的义务。 为什么要多付钱。难道不付钱就不能得到更好的保护了吗。。这个不成了黑社会了。收保护费。 不不。是变相的保护费了。。