A Keep Women Safe Walk held in Hamilton, calls for police and council to make city safer

A group of Hamilton residents is calling upon the police and council to help make trails around the city safer. This morning Melissa Kelly held a Keep Women Safe Walk to help bring attention to the issue after a woman was dragged off of a Hamilton Mountain train last month.

On July 13th, police say a woman was walking on a trail near Upper Paradise around 9:30 a.m. when she was approached by an unknown man and dragged off the trail. Police are now looking for the suspect. According to Hamilton police, several incidents have occurred on city trails in the past three months.

Kelly is an avid walker and says she doesn’t always feel safe on some of her favourite trails in Hamilton, “I don’t want to be constantly looking over my shoulders to see if someone is creeping up behind me.”

This morning the group met on the West Mountain and walked down the escarpment. The goal is to bring awareness and build a community where women can walk together.

Kelly is asking Hamilton police to have more of a presence on trails. She has also reached out to the city to see if it’s possible to have video surveillance

Hamilton city councillor John Paul Danko says, “We have started investing in lighting in the evenings to increase a little safety in those areas. As a last resort, consider if there is an ongoing issue, video surveillance.”

Hamilton police told CHCH News today, “as a result of the recent incidents more officers have been deployed on area trails to help ensure community safety.”

Kelly says she has never seen any and she walks the trails several times a week.