In Saskatchewan, nine communities are receiving more than $13.6 million dollars for targeted policing initiatives. Yorkton is included in that number, and will be receiving $315,000 for community policing initiatives.
According to Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit, that money will be spent to continue targeted policing initiatives, with three RCMP officers funded through the program. These officers will be responsible for community engagement, and are one of several approaches taken to reduce crime in the community. This targeted program began with one officer in the city, and has expanded to three as needs were identified and the program was expanded.
The initiative reflects the community it's in, Ottenbreit says, and this is directed towards crime prevention, with the officers trying to connect with students and community members in Yorkton. The program has been a success so far, Ottenbreit says, with the community engagement being a big step in having people relate to their police force.
"When you look at the engagement, when you see these police officers in the community schools and engaging with the kids, it gets to the point where some of these kids know the officers by name and have a relationship. They see them as authority figures, but not someone to be afraid of."
While the community officers won't reach everyone, he says it's just one of many approaches to crime, and in this case the goal is to have a proactive approach that gives the community a relationship with their local RCMP. Other crime prevention measures will still be important, as will regular enforcement, but the hope is that this system will prevent crime in the city. Ottenbreit says that he believes it will be a big part of Saskatchewan policing into the future, and has been a success elsewhere.
"It's a proven system that has worked well in other jurisdictions."
