A group of Innisfail residents is stepping up to help curb crime.
The Innisfail Urban Watch Society is a newly formed group of concerned citizens working to help keep Innisfail safe. The society was created in response to the disbanding of the local Citizens on Patrol group 18 months ago following 20 years of service in the community.
After the town presented a Crime Prevention Night last August, Rhamona Young and a group of friends decided to step up.
“We wanted to know what we could do as citizens to prevent some of the crime that's happening around town,” said Young, one of four executive members with the organization.
She and fellow society members Melanie Helton, Iris Reimer and Amberly Strom met with local RMCP and a representative from the town last summer. They later completed paperwork needed to get the new society off the ground.
“It took six months to form the society,” she said. “We got our paperwork back early in the new year, within the first two weeks of January. Then we had to meet with the RCMP and set our mandate, set our protocol and that's taken time.”
Young noted the goals of the new organization.
“Our objective is to be an extra set of eyes and ears to help out the Innisfail RCMP,” she said. “We are not in any way police officers ourselves, and we want to keep our volunteers safe. It is not about vigilante justice or anything like that,” she added, noting all volunteers will be trained prior to going out.
The society will be pairing up volunteers to conduct regular patrols and walks around town in different areas of the town.
“We will do walks through parks, drives around the community and just be out and about,” said Young. “It will always be in sets of two, with volunteers going out to do neighbourhood watches throughout the day and evening. We will always let the RCMP know who's going out, when and where they will be, because safety of our volunteers will be a number 1 priority for us.”
Young pointed to the need for a group like the new society and the work it will do around town.
“There's small thefts, vehicle damage, vandalism and things going missing from people's yards,” she said. “We want to bring awareness to the community that this stuff is out there. It's happening and we need to come together as a community and say enough.
“Let's all watch out for our neighbours and keep an eye on things,” said Young. “Neighbours helping neighbours will keep our community a safer place.”
For more information on the Innisfail Urban Watch Society or to volunteer with the new organization visit its Facebook page, called Innisfail Urban Watch, or email them at [email protected]
Rhamona Young
"We want to bring awareness to the community that this stuff is out there, it's happening and we need to come together as a community and say enough."
