Rural and property crime the focus of RCMP town hall meeting
Property crime, rural crime and the risks of taking matters into your own hands were a few of the issues raised during the RCMP’s town hall meeting in Battleford Tuesday.
Residents had an opportunity to discuss their concerns during the event, which was one of a number of meetings held across the 87 RCMP detachments in the province this spring. During the meeting, Staff Sgt. Greg Abbott, with the RCMP’s central district management team in Saskatoon, and Battlefords RCMP Staff Sgt. Darcy Woolfitt discussed the RCMP’s efforts to tackle crime and fielded questions from the good-sized crowd.
“The dialogue that has happened, both with the police and amongst themselves in the audience, was excellent. That’s what this is all about; relationship-building,” Abbott told reporters after the event. Abbott said residents need to work with the RCMP as well as other members of their community to help reduce crime in the Battlefords and the surrounding rural areas, and urged residents to help the RCMP by reporting any suspicious activity to police.
One attendee asked about what the police are doing about property crime, and said the issue seems to be getting worse in the region.