The signing of a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Alberta RCMP and the Alberta Provincial Rural Crime Watch Association may encourage more area residents to join the local rural crime watch group, says Gerald Ingeveld.
The president of the Olds-Sundre-Didsbury Rural Crime Watch Association, Ingeveld says the new MOU outlines the roles and responsibilities of rural crime watch associations, giving potential volunteers a good idea of what joining rural crime watch may involve.
"It gives us an opportunity to have something to stand on and move forward," said Ingeveld. "It will help us to be able to encourage people to join because we can clearly state what we do and how we do it.
"It will help people decide if they want to be in a rural crime watch organization and be involved in passive observation and sharing of information.
"I think it will help bring people in to the organization. Having clarity is always good, so you know what you are signing up for."
Deputy Commissioner Todd Shean, Commanding Officer, Alberta RCMP and Trevor Tychkowsky, the president of the Alberta Provincial Rural Crime Watch Association, signed the MOU last week.
The agreement outlines the roles rural crime watch associations can play in fighting crime in rural Alberta.
The Olds-Sundre-Didsbury Crime Watch Association is a member of the provincial association. Ingeveld also sits on the provincial board of directors.
Rural crime watch associations are community-led programs supported by the RCMP and Alberta Justice and Solicitor General aimed at reducing crime in rural communities by providing extra "eyes and ears" for the RCMP and promoting crime prevention through awareness and education campaigns," said Shean.
"The efforts of rural crime watch volunteers to promote crime prevention in their communities and encourage the reporting of suspicious activities helps Alberta RCMP gather relevant and actionable intelligence – a key component of our intelligence-led crime reduction strategy," said Shean.
"Their commitment to educating their neighbours on how to secure their property and how to be aware of potential threats greatly contribute to making their communities safer and more resilient."
Provincial association president Tychkowsky said rural residents can play a key role in helping RCMP fight crime.
"We understand that in order for the RCMP to police our communities effectively, we need to take an active role in educating our neighbours and watching each other's backs," said Tychkowsky.
"Reducing crime in Alberta cannot be achieved through policing alone. A collaborative approach that includes citizens, health and mental health service providers, law enforcement, government partners and community leaders like the Alberta Rural Crime Watch Association is essential to keeping communities safe and breaking the cycle of criminal activity."
The new memorandum of understanding outlines the activities rural crime watch members can and cannot undertake, said Ingeveld.
"We've been a partner with them (RCMP) for many years and this makes it official," said Ingeveld. "It makes it clear on what the expectations are of each other.
"There are different organizations that work with the RCMP, like rural crime watch associations and Citizens on Patrol (COP) for example. So it's good to have down on paper exactly what we do, showing what our similarities are and what our differences are, of the different organizations.
"One of the differences is COP will have members who are active in patrolling and it lays out how they will be trained and supported in that role.
"With us it talks about that we are passive observers and how we will share that information. It is really saying we are not trained to patrol so we won't patrol, but we will gather information and we will share that information with the RCMP."
"It will help us to be able to encourage people to join because we can clearly state what we do and how we do it."
