MD Working on Crime Prevention Program

Program designed to help future development and current residents.

The Municipal District (MD) of Bonnyville’s Public Safety department is working on a crime prevention program for developers that will help future residents (or businesses) better protect themselves against theft. Along with helping with future development crime prevention, Public Safety officers are assisting current residents in crime prevention measures. Director of Public Safety, Chris Garner, gave MD Council a quick overview of the program during the April 12th Council meeting.

“It goes after the initial starting point,” Garner explains the crime prevention program starts at the design of a subdivision or development, “it looks at from the point of view from when a subdivision or development is being laid out.Crime prevention of the environmental design; as well as the other aspects of development.”

“We can make recommendations to the developer, maybe not more expensive options, but certainly options that may encourage crime prevention,” thinking beyond lighting and gates, Garner says the program will assist in locating areas of concern and how to improve them. Public Safety will work hand in hand with the Planning & Development department on the program, says Garner, “we’ll have their individuals trained in this type of [prevention measures].”

For current residents and businesses, Garner says the Public Safety department will be visiting at the owner’s request. “We’d sit down with them to review what [crime prevention measures] they have in place already.” From there, Public Safety would give recommendations on how to improve the crime prevention measures, “especially on the exterior, give them some recommendations on how to target harden their home or business to add to the prevention.”

“We have a lot of circumstances in the MD, where people are away from their homes for a period of time. We would endeavour to be aware of who is away and keep an eye on their home,” Garner says that although it doesn’t hurt for residents to make neighbours aware of the fact that they will be away so they can check on their property, some times neighbours cannot fulfill those requests. “That’s why we would have it done through our department, as well,” explains Garner.

The Public Safety department plans to host crime prevention meetings in all of the community halls in the MD, for anyone wishing to attend, says Garner, “those would be done on a rotation, throughout the year.”