Enhanced police coverage to First Nations communities to the north of the Battlefords has arrived with the opening of a new RCMP satellite office in Cochin.
The office is located at 891 Highway 4 at the north end of Cochin, on Saulteaux First Nation land.
The office is a result of an enhanced policing agreement involving the Moosomin and Saulteaux First Nations. According to Battlefords Rural S/Sgt. Howard Nodwell, the agreement was first entered into approximately 14 years ago and has gone through a number of renewals and amendments since then. It is a tripartite agreement among the First Nations and federal and provincial governments, in which specific services are designated to those First Nations.
"There are officers designated as part of the agreement to provide services to those First Nations, and there's also the provision for the First Nations to provide a community policing facility that will allow the officers to work out of," he said.
The office, which is a satellite of the Battlefords detachment, opened June 27. It is to provide all of its service to Moosomin and Saulteaux First Nation, though officers can be deployed to other areas in times of emergencies.
The office will provide a workplace for officers and staff for their general duties. Officers will be staffed there at irregular hours - irregular because Nodwell notes the officers can be expected to be out in the communities on various assignments.
Three officers are designated to the community and there will be a clerk on staff as well. A number of other officers who work in the area will also have access to the office, Nodwell said.
While it provides options for police it is not a full detachment so has somewhat limited capacities, Nodwell said. The phone numbers remain the same for those who wish to phone in any complaints or emergencies, at 306-446-1720, or, in the event of emergencies, at 911.
Nodwell said a grand opening and open house is being planned.
