“I’m only as good as the community helps me,” said Constable Diego Mejia, who encourages business owners and neighbours to drop by the community policing centre at Concession and Upper Wentworth with their questions and concerns.

Criminal matters can also be reported anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 905-522-8477, Const. Mejia noted.

A 20-year veteran of the Hamilton Police Service, Const. Mejia, 48, came to Canada from Columbia in 1974. After studying engineering and economics at McMaster University and Mohawk College, he served as a field engineer with the Canadian army before joining the police service.

Prior to becoming a police officer, Const. Mejia worked with the police intelligence office as a Spanish translator. Through his civilian work, Const. Mejia said, he was encouraged to join the service.

Const. Mejia said he feels that being an immigrant himself and able to speak a second language has been helpful when dealing with residents or merchants who have come to Hamilton from another country.

“They can relate to someone who wasn’t born in the country,” Const. Mejia said.

After working the past six years as a Mountain patrol and school liaison officer, Const. Mejia is enjoying his new surroundings.

“It’s a great community, it’s very vibrant,” he said. “I have met people from all over the city that are coming here.”

While the Concession Street community has its share of graffiti and minor vandalism, the officer says those are essentially minor problems, adding the situation in the area is no worse than it is in most other parts of Hamilton.

Some merchants have complained from time to time about a small number of youths loitering along the street, making it difficult for seniors to pass by and possibly causing other trouble.

From his school liaison days, Const. Mejia said, he knows who most of those kids are and is quick to point out that for the most part the youths aren’t doing anything in the Concession Street area that young people in other parts of the city aren’t doing.

“They’re not bad people, they’re just kids that are testing the waters,” he said.

Const. Mejia said he has spent the past few weeks raising his visibility on the street and dropping in on each business as often as he can. While he normally works from 8 a. m. to 4 p. m., Monday to Friday, Const. Mejia said his hours are flexible and he can work afternoons, nights and weekends if needed to address a particular problem that occurs during those times and won’t hesitate to call in patrol officer assistance if needed.

Paul Wharton, chair of the Concession Street Business Improvement Area, said Const. Mejia has been a welcome addition to the community.

“He’s just what we need on the street,” Mr. Wharton said. “He’s here to clean up the street and if that means telling business owners to clean up their buildings he’s going to do just that.”