Bonnyville gets a full time peace officer

Bonnyville residents are starting to get to know the new community peace officer Wanda Tomm.

Taking over the position in August, Officer Tomm is currently the sole CPO and has filled the position the Town has been searching to fill since January.

The Town sees the position as a benefit by providing a presence for bylaw enforcement, while also being able to address complaints and do proactive patrols.

“I have only been in this position for three and a half to four months so I am still making up a plan and building my ground,” said Officer Wanda Tomm.  

“I do have some ideas that, hopefully, going forward into the new year, I can implement some of those.”

The authority as a community peace officer includes the Dangerous Dogs Act, Liquor, Cannabis and Gaming Act, provincial roadside sanctions, and Traffic Safety Act.

While presenting at town council on Nov. 8, Tomm released information on what she’s seen so far since taking over. 

For example, in August, 29 per cent of calls were regarding aggressive dogs, nuisance dogs, abandoned dogs, while 30 per cent of calls dealt with unsightly properties. 

Tomm has also worked with the communications coordinator to release social media posts about things such as crosswalk safety, sidewalks, snow, ice and parking issues.

“We had a contract with the RCMP for several years to provide the services, but we realized the Town needed more of a full time person in this position to provide the level of service we desired,” said Bill Rogers, CAO for the Town.

“We wanted someone who was really on top of bylaw issues such as traffic and school safety. We now have one person able to deal with this type of authority, she can deliver us these services everyday and we are happy to have her.”

Officer Tomm has been an officer for over 10 years now, as she was an RCMP constable in Lloydminster and Bonnyville from 2012-2018. 

She then took the position with the M.D. of Bonnyville in 2018 and spent four years with the municipality as a CPO. 

From 2017-2018, she spent time in the bylaw enhanced position with the Town of Bonnyville. 

Tomm is also a big believer in bylaw education to residents sharing bylaws that not everyone may be aware of like parking and sidewalk rules. 

The orange tag campaign has shown great compliance where an orange tag gets left on your door outlining the bylaw matter that should be addressed, such as needing to shovel your sidewalk.

“When first starting out I was super busy with complaints about dogs, unsightly properties, traffic and parking issues,” said Tomm. 

“Sometimes the wheel seems to turn slow when it comes to compliance with unsightliness, but it is a process, we have procedures to follow, we do see a compliance rate for things that have come across our desk [at] 85-90 per cent overall compliance.”.