Elk Point RCMP Hears from Community

The Elk Point RCMP met with community members on Tuesday evening to open dialogue with the town on what residents would like to see from the police force. S/Sgt Barry LaRocque says many of the topics brought up were typical; however there was asked from the community he wants to work hard at fulfilling; better communication with the public.

“One of the things that was brought up, was communication and having more communication. Letting the public know more about what’s happening. That could be through using media and letting them know more of what’s going on,” S/Sgt LaRocque explains a few community members addressed a want to know more about what’s happening with the RCMP in the town; including information on crimes, patrolling, safety, community partnership events, etc. “From a commander point-of-view, I will endeavor to do that, in terms of advising people more of what’s going on.” The want for more information is a growing factor in the town, explains S/Sgt. LaRocque, “as police, sometimes we think, unless it directly affects you, the public wouldn’t want to know. I’m seeing more of a bigger appetite, from the public, of wanting to know what’s going on in their communities.”

The evening help the RCMP gather information from the community to set their Policing Priorities. These priorities will be back with measurable objectives and targets. The Detachment plans to talk to community members in Fishing Lake and Frog Lake, which are in their policing region, before the end of March to help set their priorities.

Priorities:

• Police Visibility
• Property & Vehicle Theft
• Traffic Safety
• Intelligence

The four priorities will remain for the year, unless Fishing Lake or Frog Lake communities give feedback that is very different from Elk Point, explains S/Sgt. LaRocque, “we’ll use those [priorities] as our main ones and they’re pretty consistent with other detachments. But all of sudden, if we get out to Fishing Lake or Frog Lake, and they have something totally different, that doesn’t necessarily fall under one of those umbrellas, then we can certainly add it in. This is a living document, it’s not set in stone, come April 1st or anything.”

In general, the people were very supportive of what the police are doing. They understand we have finite resources, money and human resources. They understand that sometimes we’re running thin and they know that we’re doing the best job possible. – S/Sgt. Barry LaRocque Elk Point RCMP Detachment