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IQALUIT - A recent town forum on public safety was more a first step towards community mobilization than an exercise in finger-pointing.

The public meeting on Oct. 21 was held in response to an open letter criticizing Iqaluit city council for not taking action to address the issue of public safety. It was circulated widely following a recent series of sexual assaults.

At a public meeting on Oct. 21, RCMP Sgt. Kim Melenchuk said crimes in Iqaluit are on the rise as the city's population is growing. - Carolyn Sloan/NNSL photo

The council received 80 signed copies of the letter, which calls on the city to develop a public safety strategy and invest in street lighting and emergency call stations.

About 60 people gathered at Nakasuk school to pose their concerns and questions to a panel that included representatives from the RCMP, Nunavut Health and Social Services, city council and the municipality.

Concerns raised during the meeting focused primarily on the prevalence of assault, abuse, vandalism and drugs and alcohol.

Parents like Kathy Hanson expressed fear for the safety of children in the community.

"It's very scary for a mother," she said. "Just walking from here to the store, anything could happen."

Elder Annie Nowyook talked about how problems have grown as more and more people have moved into the community.

There was a time when you could leave your personal possessions out in the open and never worry, she said through a translator.

Sgt. Kim Melenchuk of the RCMP's Iqaluit detachment expressed his own concerns about the levels of crime in the city, which have worsened as the population has grown. In comparing the first eight months of 2007 and 2008, he said drug incidents had risen to 41 from 24, assaults to 662 from 622, property crimes to 1,196 from 996, break and enters to 110 from 97 and calls for service to 6,336 from 4,996.

Melenchuk attributed the majority of these incidents to issues with drugs and alcohol.

"Those issues of drugs and alcohol ares 99 per cent of the daily police work in the Iqaluit detachment," he said.

In expressing their concerns, many of the citizens who spoke at the meeting placed little blame on the city or the agencies present, and argued instead that the responsibility of public safety should rest with the community as a whole.

These sentiments were echoed by several of the panelists as well.

"Community safety and community health is really an issue that requires the efforts of the total community," said Chester Hinatsu, director of Health and Social Services programs in Iqaluit. "It's not just a police initiative, although they are a very important part of that."

A list of names was collected at the end of the meeting for those who wanted to participate in a public safety committee to get the ball rolling on some of the issues that were discussed.