Achi news desk-
HALIFAX –
A small town in Nova Scotia that has struggled to tame its sometimes rowdy university student population is considering advice from an unlikely source.
Last week, the town of Wolfville – home of Acadia University – received a draft study that draws some lessons from the inquiry that looked into Nova Scotia’s 2020 mass shooting that claimed 22 lives.
The inquiry, formally known as the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC), found widespread failures in the RCMP’s response to the murders. In March 2023, it issued 130 recommendations to improve public safety, the majority of which apply in some form to the Mounties.
In the introduction to the Acadia study, criminology professor Stephen Schneider says the town specifically asked him to explore alternatives to the RCMP in addressing community safety issues.
Schneider, who teaches at St Mary’s University in Halifax, says the final report of the inquiry concluded that while the police remain key to protecting the public, they should not be the primary responders to specific calls for help.
“In its recommendations regarding the twin public health crises of mental health illness and violence against women, the MCC recommends ‘centralizing justice,'” Schneider said in the 160-page report.
“This means replacing the police as the main responders for many types of calls for service with healthcare or social welfare professionals. The MCC also emphasized the need for more community-based solutions.”
That’s exactly what Schneider offers for Wolfville’s challenges with unruly students.
“There have long been calls for policymakers to consider alternative approaches, particularly those that address the social determinants of crime and violence,” his study said.
“However, the traditional reactive law enforcement approach dominates, while there is a lack of problem-solving measures to address root causes and reduce risk factors. The absence of a systematic approach … leads to piecemeal responses that mainly addresses the symptoms of deeper social problems.”
In Wolfville, where Acadia’s 3,000 students make up half the town’s population during the academic year, local residents have long complained that their young neighbors routinely make life miserable.
“These nuisance issues range from loud and raucous parties and public drunkenness to vandalism and trespassing,” the study says. “Late night disturbances, often resulting from students moving from bars to residential areas, are a common occurrence. Of greater concern is threatening and disruptive behavior fueled by excessive drinking.”
In 2011, a first-year Acadia student died after a night of heavy drinking. And that year’s report on the harms of alcohol in selected towns in Nova Scotia indicated that the RCMP estimated that a third of their calls in Wolfville were alcohol-related.
“This is attributed to a culture of binge drinking among students,” the report says. “Kings District RCMP officers and victim advocates… testify that alcohol is a significant risk factor for gender-based violence, including domestic and sexualized violence.”
Again, Schneider’s report cites the Mass Casualty Commission, which concluded that violence against women has become a national epidemic.
“Wolfville is at higher risk of sexual violence,” the study said. “Post-secondary students have higher rates of sexual violence compared to the general population, which is exacerbated by the availability of alcohol.”
In October 2021, the RCMP confirmed that arrests had been made and fines issued to students who gathered by the hundreds to party on the town’s streets. At the time, a spokesperson for the university said that the institution was “very disappointed” in the behavior of students who were “collecting noisily” and damaging property.
“The issues faced by Wolfville are common in many college towns and cities that support large student populations,” Schneider’s study said. He attributes the poor behavior among post-secondary students, in part, to the intense pressures they face.
“Due to the COVID-19 epidemic and additional stressors such as toxic social media, the number of people suffering from anxiety and depression has increased in recent years,” the report said, adding that millennials and generation Z are also facing stagnant wages, and a lower standard of living, affordability issues, mobile phone addiction, cyberbullying, the synthetic drug epidemic and the climate change crisis.
“These issues have taken a toll, creating a dystopian vision of their future and contributing to a mental health epidemic among young people.”
The town has responded by setting up committees to manage high risk events off campus. And Acadia is doing more to support student mental health and address sexual violence, the report said.
As a result, the town’s relationship with the university has improved, the town said in an information report. “While road safety remains a major concern for our community, nuisance party issues have declined thanks to a community safety approach and harm reduction strategies,” the report says.
Schneider’s study says the town should consider establishing a five-year pilot project that would use a “community safety and well-being model,” which he described as a community-based alternative to the RCMP.
The project would be led by an independent non-profit association, which would include a crime prevention working group, a social development working group and a community navigator. The crime prevention group would include representatives from the town, Acadia University, the Acadia Student Union, the RCMP, the provincial Department of Justice, licensed organizations and property owners.
The town council expects a final report from Schneider this spring before it takes any action.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on April 8, 2024.
