Do you feel safe?

Do you feel safe walking in the downtown Vernon area?

There has been a lot of chatter from local Vernonites saying they don't feel safe or vice versa when walking the streets of downtown Vernon.

So, Castanet decided to hit the streets and ask, do you feel safe in downtown Vernon?

The responses were mixed.

"I don't feel safe," said a Vernon mother of two young children. "There was a time a few weeks ago I went to Edo to have a bite to eat and as I was putting my son in the backseat of my truck an aggressive panhandler approached me and put his hand on my truck door and actually scared me really bad."

"I feel safe in Vernon," said a woman and her friend. "I have never had an issue." The woman did mention that community members should be smart about where they spend their time.

"After 6 or 7 p.m., no," said a mother of a young child. "I don't want to put a stigma on anybody but sometimes when drugs take over a personality that person is not their self and I just don't feel safe with the type of drugs that are going around our city."

Another woman says she avoids going out by herself late at night, but she generally feels safe otherwise.

"Yes I do [feel safe]," said a young woman. "I feel like I can walk around and just enjoy myself on my days off."

One young man says he generally feels safe but after dark, he doesn't feel safe, particularly not at Polson Park.