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RCMP planning town hall meetings for April

Mar 27, 2018 | 1:00 PM

Locals will soon get an update on police efforts to combat crime in the community at the Battleford’s RCMP’s town hall meetings planned for April.

North Battleford Mayor Ryan Bater said he is looking forward to the events.

“I think it’s great,” he said. “I commend the detachment of the RCMP to host the town halls here. It’s an opportunity for the public to attend, and to not only receive information from the detachment in terms of policing efforts here but be able to ask questions and see what’s going on in a variety of specific files.”

Battleford’s RCMP Staff Sgt. Darcy Woolfitt announced the events at North Battleford City Hall Monday. The date for the meetings is still being determined.

“We’re going to talk about the specific crime rates we have,” Woolfitt said. “We’re going to be looking at some of our statistics, historical and recent statistics we have, and talk about crime trends.”

He said the RCMP will also discuss ways residents can better ensure their property is secure and protected to reduce chances of becoming the victims of crime.

Crime reduction will also be a discussion topic.

Woolfitt said the RCMP conducted Crime Suppression Patrols in February and March in the Battlefords. 

A total of 12 additional RCMP officers from the Provincial Crime Reduction Team completed work in the Battlefords over a three-week period.  

Woolfitt said based on the number of calls for service, he expects statistics to show a decrease in criminal activity. 

“We’re building on a longer-term strategy with the assistance of additional funding from the City of North Battleford,” Woolfitt said. “The strategy is going to target those persons identified as prolific offenders who require more police attention to curb their criminal activities.” 

Residents and local officials will also have an opportunity to give their feedback to police at the town hall meetings.

“We’ll absolutely have time for questions from the public, and we’re going to make every effort to answer those as best we can,” Woolfitt said.

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

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