Community Safety Co-ordinator Herb Sutton presented his final monitoring report of the current council term Monday, highlighting a number of safety initiatives currently under way.
Here are some highlights from the October report:
They continue to look for ways to heighten the profile of the Citizens On Patrol program. A few initiatives include connecting with other COPP groups in Saskatchewan and ultimately find a representative who can sit on the national board.
Crime Free Multi Housing efforts continue and Sutton noted professional development is available in Saskatoon for anyone interested.
Ten people from the CPTED review committee and from the downtown BID took part in a safety audit Sept. 29 in Central Park.
SAGE has completed four business engagement presentations with business groups, and Sutton reports he is pleased with the response and lots of questions are being asked of the group.
Sutton also spoke about initiatives underway with the HUB and noted there is increased focus on risk factors and the top four identified include alcohol, housing, truancy and basic needs not being met.
North Battleford is being asked by Public Safety Canada to be connected to Williams Lake, B.C. and help support their efforts to get started with its own community safety model using the Public Safety Canada model. This is the same model that was used in North Battleford with SAGE.
“What Public Safety Canada wants us to share with Williams Lake is the fact that the City has adopted a very broad approach to creating a safer community,” said Sutton.
Finally, Sutton thanked the mayor and council for the support for community safety and for the work he was involved in.
“I hope it’s clear from the monitoring reports that I’ve put together that I certainly support that broad approach to community safety that covers the whole gamut, right from enforcement to crime prevention, crime reduction, so I just want to thank you for giving me that opportunity to work in that environment.”
