Gatineau police responding to more calls at Casino du Lac-Leamy
Casino du Lac-Leamy is calling on Gatineau police more often these days to deal with situations including unruly or drunk customers.
Police have seen an increase in calls to the popular Gatineau casino, and that's because casino staff are calling police more often to help with security, according to Loto-Québec spokesperson Patrice Lavoie.
"Before, we were more in the habit of trying to deal with situations in-house," said Lavoie in French to Radio-Canada.
"For example, if someone has consumed too much alcohol or was behaving poorly, we would simply ask them to leave.
Now, as soon as we have a reasonable doubt that a client's security could be compromised, at that moment we call Gatineau police."
The goal is also to prevent casinogoers from drinking and driving, according to Lavoie.
Casino du Lac-Leamy opened the Aléa nightclub in 2014. Gatineau police say that before Aléa opened, they responded to about 90 calls a year at the casino.
Last year they intervened on about 250 calls, mostly dealing with individuals disturbing the peace, but also about theft, drugs and impaired driving.
'We won't hesitate to call police'
However, Gatineau police spokesperson Const. Andrée East stops short of blaming that activity directly on the presence of the bar itself.
"We have observed an increase in the number of calls at the casino. But it is hard for us to make a direct link between the opening of the bar there and the number of calls that have increased," said East.
"For sure at the moment that a call is made here at the centre, and that call requires the police to intervene, we will go."
Lavoie asserts that despite the increased police involvement, incidents at the casino remain relatively low. With an average of around 54,000 visitors a week, police are responding to an average of four to five calls.
"For us, it's very important that the clients who come to the casino have fun in a secure way. So we won't hesitate to call police just to ensure that can happen," said Lavoie.
"That security is non-negotiable for us. "
