Flin Flon Mounties are about to gain watchful allies in the fight against crime.
Volunteers with the revived Citizens on Patrol (COP) program expect to begin hitting the streets by mid-October.
“We do have an RCMP force here and we do have people who spend a lot of time keeping an eye on their neighbourhood as is,” says Sherrie Worden, one of the volunteers. “This is just more in a controlled kind of setting where we are following schedules, we work with the police.”
COP has at least eight volunteers, ranging from their 20s to retirement age, ready to lend a hand. After their applications and criminal record checks are approved, they will be trained on how to patrol and handle a range of scenarios.
Teams
Though their exact schedule has not been determined, COP volunteers will travel in teams of two or more people to conduct regular patrols both on foot and by vehicle.
If they see something suspicious, they will notify the police, with whom they will work closely. They will not have special authority to deal with criminals, or make citizen’s arrests.
COP members will also maintain a log of incidents and people they see while on patrol. This information could then be used to help solve subsequent crimes that go unwitnessed.
Ben McCutcheon, another volunteer with the program, advocates that COP members make use of smartphones to digitally record suspicious activity.
Photos, he says, can be altered, but video is much more difficult to tamper with.
Still, some have wondered how effective COP can be given that many crimes appear to happen indiscriminately and not in the open.
But Worden believes COP will serve as a powerful deterrent because would-be criminals will know someone may be watching.
“If you have enough people patrolling, there could be a good chance that crime rates will go down,” she says.
Not all COP volunteers will be expected to participate in patrols if they are unable or unwilling. Helping out could be as simple as keeping a watchful eye on the neighbourhood for a certain period of time.
The ultimate goal is to have at least one person watching out over every neighbourhood at all times, but that will hinge on the number of volunteers available – and their ability to commit the hours necessary.
McCutcheon says crime in Flin Flon is such that there is a “pure, pure cry for help” from the public.
COP volunteers on patrol will wear t-shirts identifying them as part of the organization. It hasn’t been decided whether their patrol vehicles will also be identifiable.
McCutcheon is confident that once COP is up and running, more residents will step up to help out.
“I’m thinking snowball effect,” he says.
Anyone interested in volunteering with COP may contact McCutcheon at 204-687-3811 or message him on Facebook.
