INNISFAIL – The town’s new Policing and Safe Community Committee has met for the first time with its seven voting members fully briefed by senior provincial and RCMP officials on its responsibilities and how it can best serve the community.
The new committee, one of eight serving municipalities across the province, met for the first time on Oct. 29 for an extensive three-hour orientation session.
“It was a very extensive outline as to who does what. It was very well received. Everybody thought it was great information,” said
Heather Whymark, director of corporate services, who attended the meeting as the town’s protective services falls under her umbrella of responsibilities.
The five voting citizen members on the new committee are Sue Haddow, Marilyn Walker, Joy Milne, George Rehman and Bob Scholte. Town officials were hoping there would be a youth member on the committee but no names were submitted.
“That is a gap that is missing at this point,” said Whymark.
The voting council representatives are councillors Donnie Hill and Glen Carritt. A non-voting RCMP member from the Innisfail detachment will join the seven-member committee.
Whymark said the senior officials from the RCMP K Division and the provincial Justice and Solicitor General ministry were in town to lay out what a policing committee “does and looks like," including the terms of reference.
Representing the RCMP K Division was Insp. Shane Ramteemal. Karyn Popplestone, manager of the contract policing and policing oversight public security division, and Alexander Behnke, director of provincial public complaints, represented the Justice and Solicitor General ministry.
Whymark said the next meeting is scheduled for early December. It’s expected that meeting will deal with the election of a chairperson, and decide how often meetings should take place, as well as the days and times.
Carritt said he was pleased with the outcomes from the first meeting, emphasizing all groups in town need to collaborate to make Innisfail safer.
“That is the key. Number 1, to minimize crime. And that has been happening, with collaboration and the RCMP has reduced crime significantly,” said Carritt, specifically pointing to Westgate Industrial Park where property crime was epidemic two years ago but has now been contained. “The crime down there has been reduced significantly, and that is a big part to do with the security that is down there, as well as the RCMP locking up some of these criminals. My point is that they need to continue to work together and realize the benefit of both.”
In the meantime, Carritt said he would be interested in being the first chair of the new committee. He said the number 1 priority is to get all stakeholders involved in communications, with an eye in getting the more problematic crime statistics lowered.
“And making sure high crime times in our town are patrolled instead of left alone,” said Carritt. “The criminals know when there are holes and voids and we need to make sure we fill those voids.”
Carritt also wants a renewed effort to attract a youth member to the committee, and he is willing to step up on his own to make that happen.
“Absolutely. I think it is important. I may take it upon myself to go to the schools and do a couple of talks and see if we can get a really good student in there to represent what is going on in the schools,” said Carritt, mindful the town’s youth are at the centre of the public eye with the new skatepark and the need for improved safety along the CP rail tracks. “It’s (youth) another set of boots on the ground or eyes and ears on what is going on in the schools, and sometimes we get removed from that and we need to have somebody in there to keep those communications open, whether it be at the skateboard park, or drugs or what have you. It is important to have a really good perspective on what is going on in the schools.”
