After sputtering out a number of years ago, the Rural Crime Watch program is seeing something of a revitalization as the hot-button topic of crime in lower population areas continues to be at the forefront of conversations in many small town circles.
Part of that conversation includes the RCMP urging people to utilize new-age technology in the fight against crime in rural Saskatchewan.
On Tuesday evening, May 22, Corporal Mel Zurevinski of the RCMP gave a presentation to ratepayers in the RM of Fertile Valley about possibly establishing the program in the area. The meeting, which took place at the former school building in Conquest, suffered from a low turnout of just over a dozen people, which most attributed to seeding, but Cpl. Zurevinski’s message stayed with those who were in attendance.
Mel recently gave talks about the Rural Crime Watch program to SARM (Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities) touting its success in helping to prevent crime and allowing rural residents to stay vigilant, and a number of rural municipalities in the province have started to take notice of its impact.
That impact includes the usage of a smartphone application called WhatsApp, a messaging service that many rural municipalities are using in order to keep track of suspicious activity and stay connected by way of creating groups within the app.
Zurevinski has given his presentation on the Rural Crime Watch program 135 times since 2016, which may show a reflection of how serious the issue of rural crime is in the province, as well as highlight how much people want to help in reporting and preventing it in the first place. On average, Mel is traveling between 5000-6000 km per month visiting communities and promoting the program.
The difference between Rural Crime Watch and Citizens On Patrol is mainly that RCW is for staying vigilant in smaller areas, with the goal being to prevent criminal behavior and improve a sense of security in rural communities.
With over 80 RM’s in the province under the program, rural residents are realizing the benefits of it and working together to prevent thefts, especially since property crime is the biggest criminal issue in smaller areas.
Zurevinski stressed that marking items and even taking pictures of serial numbers on property items can be beneficial in the long run as far as having items returned quicker if they’re recovered by police.
The meeting in Conquest surrounding rural crime came on the heels of the president of SARM wanting the provincial government to create a crime watch association that’s similar to what exists in Alberta.
Ray Orb says that crime watch is “more prevalent” in that province and that it’s something he wants to help “reinvigorate” in Saskatchewan.
A provincial association of crime watch organizations would allow individual communities to stop operating in silos and allow for joint communication through technology such as phone applications. Orb hopes that a framework for a strategy can be put in place soon after meetings to be held in June that he hopes the RCMP will attend.
As a spokesman for Rural Crime Watch, Cpl. Zurevinski says he’s seen the benefits of it first-hand and it’s allowed communities to become more vigilant and secure as everyone works together to ensure the safety of both themselves and their property.
“We believe in this program, and we know it works,” he said.
Jean Jones, Administrator for the RM of Fertile Valley said the RM intends to have initial interest forms set up at their office, as well as the Village of Conquest and Village of Macrorie offices for those who are interested in signing up to join the program. From there, anyone who wishes to use the WhatsApp app to utilize the tech side of Rural Crime Watch will need to have a criminal record check done.
