Kenneth Brown
of The Crossroads
Public consultation has become a priority for the RCMP in Saskatchewan and the Kindersley RCMP has wrapped up town hall meetings in its three largest communities.
The Kindersley RCMP held three town hall meetings in February and March starting with a town hall on Feb. 27 in Kindersley.
The police detachment held additional town hall meetings on March 21 in Kerrobert and on March 27 in Eston.
Each of the town halls was an opportunity for the detachment to share its policing priorities for 2018, but the Town of Kindersley advertised the town hall in February to be about new cannabis legislation as the municipality is considering its option to have a permit for a cannabis retailer in the community.
Staff Sgt. Greg Abbott
The town halls in Kerrobert and Eston were advertised as an opportunity for the detachment to share its priorities for 2018, and also for people to ask questions. There were three RCMP members at the town hall in Eston.
Staff Sgt. Ray Blais of the Kindersley RCMP was at the town hall meeting, along with Const. Mike Hill of the Eston RCMP. The two local members were joined by Staff Sgt. Greg Abbott of the RCMP Central District Command based in Saskatoon.
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Blais introduced the members, along with Brett Diemert, a conservation officer based in Kindersley. Blais told the crowd he was glad to have Diemert in attendance because RCMP members, conservation officers and highway patrol officers are forming an armed Protection and Response Team to focus on rural crime.
He said he could go on and on about the detachment’s priorities, but he wanted to hear from citizens because they know the area best and information could help local RCMP members. The staff sergeant spoke about the detachment’s challenges including human resources.
The detachment is responsible for 43 towns, villages and rural municipalities in its boundaries. The detachment area is approximately 8,000 square kilometres in size, so the 14 active members have a difficult task to police the large area.
Blais said the detachment is supposed to have 16 active members, but two positions were now vacant. Reporting crime has an impact on police resources, so he stressed the importance of reporting every crime to police.
“If you’re a victim of a crime, you have to report it,” he said, recognizing that reporting all crimes could help the police to identify trends in the area and, as later indicated, it helps to determine the number of RCMP members needed in a particular area.
A handout stated the detachment’s policing priorities for 2018. The ultimate goals are to increase community safety by reducing crime, increase community involvement in reducing crime and increase community awareness on crime prevention and enforcement strategies via consultation. The priorities include crime reduction and prevention strategies, and also strategies regarding traffic safety.
Crime prevention strategies include police visibility, Rural Crime Watch program, Citizens on Patrol Program and targeted patrols in areas where property crimes have been reported. The crime reduction strategies include monitoring known prolific offenders, drug trafficking enforcement and Crime Stoppers.
Traffic safety priorities are listed under education and enforcement. The education component includes impaired driving programs for adults and students, and enforcement strategies are for provincial and Criminal Code offences.
Abbott spoke next and he said he has attended several town hall meetings and he enjoys getting out to talk to citizens at the meetings. He said the police know response times are a big concern, but it is a challenge for officers due to the size of the detachment area.
He said Assistant Commissioner Curtis Zablocki, the RCMP’s commanding officer in Saskatchewan has called for the police to build more relationships with communities in the province, so the town halls are a part of a divisional directive.
The staff sergeant told people the RCMP is trying to police smarter by using analytic data and other intelligence. He said rural detachments could always use more members, but the RCMP has challenges with human resources. He mentioned other joint units and prevention programs as resources for police.
When the floor was opened to questions, the first question turned out to be the elephant in the room. The officers were asked about what citizens could do to protect their property if they are being robbed, or what rights do they have to protect their property.
Abbott said the question regarding rights to protect property if a thief is on the property or in the home is the most asked question at town hall meetings. He said people get enraged with the thought of property crime.
“You have the right as a property owner to protect your property, and to protect your life and person and your family,” he said, noting that the actions of a property owner have to be reasonable as stated in the Criminal Code of Canada.
People are asking if they could shoot the tires on a suspect’s vehicle. Abbott stressed that people should avoid confrontation with criminals, so they should call police to report the crime and lock up. If a thief approaches the home, people should shout through a window that the police were called.
If someone breaks into the home and appears to be threatening life and limb, all bets are off and people could do what ever it takes to protect themselves and their families, he said. Dogs and cameras are good security measures in rural areas, he said. Property owners should not fire shots in the air to fend off thieves because they might believe the gun is aimed at them, Abbott explained.
The officers continued to answer questions about property crime, response times and community safety. After the meeting, Blais said the town hall in Kerrobert was similar to the one in Eston and area residents are on the same page with respect to concerns such as property crime.
Blais said the detachment has always consulted with municipal councils in the area because they represent the citizens, but the RCMP is taking it further by consulting with the public. He said public meetings are often hit and miss, but they went well.
“When you see what happened in Kerrobert, Kindersley and (Eston), I think those town hall meetings are here to stay,” he said, adding that discussions have been helpful. “We have plans to have more town hall meetings.”
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