BARRIE – City police and Camp Borden officers are discussing using joint street patrols to help keep the peace in Barrie's busy entertainment district on peak weekends.

Teaming up with military police to patrol the bar zone is a concept "we wouldn't have any real problems with," Barrie chief Wayne Frechette said in an interview.

"Would extra bodies help us? Sure."

According to its website, CFB Borden trains some 15,000 recruits annually and is staffed by 3,250 military and 1,500 civilians.

Frechette said soldiers from the base don't pose a big problem in Barrie bars and restaurants, but he agreed the sight of military police on foot patrol might help curb rowdyism.

"I think (soldiers) would be less inclined to cause trouble if they knew it would come up with their bosses on Monday morning," the chief said.

The military police would deal only with their own personnel and not civilians in Barrie, he said.

CFB Borden spokesperson Lt. Jennie Jones confirmed that the idea of joint patrols was suggested last month by a Barrie staff sergeant.

"We're looking at it, but it is too preliminary to comment further," she said.

One benefit would be to cement the base's partnership with Barrie police while recognizing their very separate jurisdictions, Jones said.

Barrie officers and military police have teamed up in the past when the situation called for it, she said, such as when a break-in occurred at the local armoury last fall.

Base Borden is located in Angus, about 25 kilometres to the southwest.

As the largest nearby city, Barrie is a popular drinking and dining spot for soldiers on weekend passes.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Joshua Abel, a bartender at Manhattans in downtown Barrie, said he has not heard of troublemaking by military personnel.

On the other hand "if they are in civilian clothes, how would you know whether they were in the military," he said.