Increasing foot patrols & communication: St. Paul RCMP building priorities

“It’s not just talk,” says the new Staff Sergeant in St. Paul. 

The new detachment commander in St. Paul wants to increase the presence of police in the community, and do more outreach and communication with the media.

Staff Sergeant Dennis Silliker took over the St. Paul RCMP detachment on July 15.

With 17 years of RCMP experience, he is identifying the goals and priorities, and learning the intricacies of the area.

“If you don’t understand the priorities of your community, how do you provide that service to them?” Silliker told Lakeland Connect. 

“Some of the initiatives that we have going forward really involve increasing our officer presence. We’re managing some different scheduling for our members to increase that visibility. I know that certainly contributes to that perception of safety for our community and our stakeholders. We’ve engaged in foot patrols too.” 

WATCH:

Town Halls & Coffee with a Cop

Several meetings with community stakeholders and municipal officers have helped identify these priorities, Silliker said.

Theft in people’s yards, break-ins at businesses, remains a major issue for many in St. Paul and the surrounding area.

“Property crime is always a big concern for residents. That’s certainly some of the initiatives we’re doing via increasing our police officer presence and moving forward with those initiatives. Property crime seems to always be prevalent,” he said. 

“I think we’ll be able to build some more trust. One of the things we’re doing right now is this communication piece, this relationship between my agency and your agency. If folks don’t know what we’re doing, we’ve failed to build that confidence.

“Going forward, I want to make sure we outline not only the work that’s been done, but the good work we want to do going forward and keep our communities advised. That communication piece often seems to fall apart.”

One of the outreach pieces that will return is Coffee with a Cop. Those are scheduled for Oct. 29 and Nov. 26.

A Town Hall is also tentatively planned for Nov. 20 where residents can ask questions and hear relevant crime information.

“We’ll have that opportunity to meet our residents and increase that communication piece that is absolutely essential to public confidence.”