From his Dundas Street restaurant Gabriel Sepulveda has seen enough: drug deals near his Mas Cafe, property damage and vandalism throughout the core.

“We want to make downtown a safer place, to make it better,” he said.

“They do drugs, they go to my bathroom here and cause damage. They don’t care,” Sepulveda said of the trouble makers.

He was among businesspeople who threw their support Wednesday behind a call for more London police foot patrols downtown.

“There are a lot of drug deals, things happening. We need more police on foot,” he said.

When police are called, foot patrols are able to respond quicker than a cruiser that sometimes shows up 30 minutes later, Sepulveda said.

He suggests security should be a higher priority than converting part of Dundas to a flex street.

“The city is talking about spending ($15 million for a new flex street) but it will be the same people here, the same problems.”

Gena Brumitt, manager of Market Tower, will ask city council committee next week to support adding two officers to the complement of 12 foot patrol officers.

She began circulating a petition Wednesday seeking support from downtown businesses. Brumitt will present the petition Thursday to councillors.

“We feel this is critical to the expansion and improvement of our downtown,” she states in a letter to the strategic priorities and policy committee.

“Officers who fulfil foot patrol duties are familiar with chronic offenders and troublesome areas, and they address quality of life issues like panhandling, intoxicated persons, loiterers and other nuisance-type offences.”

Brumitt wants the foot patrol bumped to 20 officers during the next four years.

London police back the bid. Two of the six new officers the force is asking for in its proposed 2016 budget would be dedicated to foot patrol. The two officers would cost more than $200,000 but are worth the investment, deputy chief Steve Williams said.

“Foot patrols are an important part of policing strategy downtown. They prevent and deter crime by interacting with citizens,” he said.

Foot patrols also cover Richmond Row, Old East, Hamilton Road and SoHo and parks and trails in those areas.

“The mere presence of an officer interacting with citizens, having a presence, makes people feel secure. It deters criminal activity,” Williams said.

Downtown London supports an increase in the number of foot patrol officers in the core.

“As downtown grows, we need to grow the services. This makes sense,” said Janette Macdonald, Downtown London director.

The downtown population increased 37 per cent between 2003 and 2013, and proposed improvements to the forks of the Thames and Dundas Street will draw more residents, she said.