'People are becoming more and more desperate': Crime on the rise within Maritime encampment sites

A pair of recent shootings near encampment sites in two Maritime cities is concerning those who work with the unhoused population that crime could be on the rise within these sites.

A man was taken to hospital with life-threating injuries following a Monday night shooting in Halifax. The incident happened near an encampment site.

This comes just days after a shooting took place at an encampment in Saint John, N.B., Saturday night. The suspect, 21-year old Rye Watt, was arrested by the Saint John Police Force Monday as a result of the incident.

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“It's not something that we dealt with last year or even in the earlier part of this year,” says Nick Shepard, the outreach co-ordinator for Fresh Start Services in Saint John in response to the rise in violent crimes within encampments. “People are becoming more and more desperate.”

Shepard says the challenges around helping serve encampment residents has only grown, highlighted by a strain of resources to help the population. Some encampment sites have as many as 30 people staying at them on a given night.

While he understands why residents feel safer in larger numbers, it’s also leading to more tension within the sites. As a result, theft and other crimes among encampments is rising.

“People are stealing blankets,” Shepard notes. “They're not even stealing things that you and I would necessarily see as valuable items, but more survival items. It’s like I am going to take this tent, or I am going to die.”

The major safety concerns for residents living in encampments is theft and fire. The concerns regarding potential fires is only expected to grow as the temperatures continue to drop.

Shepard says even once an out-of-the-cold shelter opens in Saint John, on top of the beds already offered at various shelters, the city will still be short around 100 beds to keep the unhoused out of the cold.

“It's going to definitely be a challenge,” says Shepard. “And the number continues to grow.”

Dalhousie University professor Jeff Karabanow has worked with encampments over the years. He notes municipalities have become more involved in maintaining and managing encampment sites, but there are still plenty of challenges for those living rough.

"You're dealing with folks that are experiencing lots of trauma,” Karabanow notes. “There's a mental health and addiction dynamic, it can be violent. But primarily it's about survival and kind of when people are at that survival layer it can turn pretty exploitative."

He says a large portion of those living on the street aren’t doing so by choice, and the overwhelming majority of residents who live within sites are friendly and peaceful people and pose no risk to the public.

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