OLDS — After about eight years of sometimes tenuous existence, the latest version of Olds Citizens on Patrol (COP) appears to be dead, a spokesperson says.
A previous edition of Olds COP folded several years ago as well.
Members of COP are volunteers. They patrol the community looking for any suspicious activity. They are not authorized to do any more than simply observe suspicious people or activities and report them to police.
Last February, after only 13 people (including a police representative and a peace officer) attended the group’s annual general meeting, it was decided to put the organization’s future on hold pending a recruitment drive over the spring and summer.
However, last week, Olds COP treasurer Phyllis Horpenuk said that drive didn’t work and efforts to contact COP Alberta officials to inform them of the situation didn’t result in any response.
The future of the Olds COP also came up during town council’s Sept. 25 meeting. At the advice of administrative staff, council agreed to wait and see what COP reps would decide regarding its future.
During an interview with the Albertan, Horpenuk said after all those years of trying to keep the organization afloat, she’s given up.
“Nobody seems to want to make the effort. I made such a big effort that got, like, nowhere really,” she said. “It felt like it was such a futile effort, so I just, I just gave up, kind of thing.”
Horpenuk said the apparent death of the organization is a disappointment, because she felt they did good work.
She recalled the enthusiasm when this latest version of Olds COP was restarted at a meeting in 2015 that attracted scores of people.
She figures there are a few factors that led to the decline.
One is that that first meeting included several people from other communities who dropped out after finding out the Olds COP could only patrol inside the town limits.
She said another factor was that people were excited to do the fun stuff, like participate in ride-alongs with RCMP officers, but not to take on other more responsible things like organizational roles.
"Nobody wants to help out,” she said.
“They just want to come in and do their thing and and leave and it's like, ‘hello, guys, somebody has to do this part of the program.’
“Somebody has to get the speakers in. Somebody has to make the coffee. Somebody has to take attendance.”
A third factor, Horpenuk thinks, is that people feel that things like doorbell cameras provide enough security against criminals.
Horpenuk said she took on the responsibility to contact COP officials regarding the future of the organization because as treasurer, “I pay the bills.”
She wonders what to do now with all the equipment associated with the Olds COP.
That includes vests, dash cams, fire extinguishers, binoculars, special flashlights and a printer.
Horpenuk has been through similar experiences back when she joined various organizations in Banff before moving to Olds in 2013.
“I mean I've been through it before, so I was kind of aware (of) what might happen,” she said.
"I guess for all intents and purposes it is dead. People just don't want to get out there and do things. That's their choice.
“And you know, if people feel secure enough for the RCMP patrolling and the cameras that they have at their houses and maybe their neighbours, that's fine.
“But we did do a lot of reporting. We did do a lot of saving of things and helping things, and I remember so many things that we did that were just incredible.
"We did help, but it can't run itself, people.”
