Citizens on Patrol to start in Peace River, Alberta
To be an extra set of eyes and ears for the RCMP; that’s the motivation behind Tom Shannon’s effort to start a Citizens on Patrol (COP) group in the Peace region.
COP is a community-based crime prevention initiative that works in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies to build safer communities. The formation of a COP group is aimed at increasing citizen participation in observing and reporting suspicious events in the community; to reduce incidents of crime such as theft from motor vehicles, break and enters, vandalism and impaired driving.
Shannon continued with an idea that was started earlier by Dean Tubbs, whose out-of-town job put a halt to his plans.
“I saw it, thought it’d be something good,” Shannon said. He met with Cst. Holly Porterfield, Peace River Regional RCMP, who provided him with information to get the group started. “She moved; we lost a valuable asset there. She had experience with getting COP started in other communities.”
Shannon started talking with people about COP, got in contact with Bev Salomons, president of the Alberta Citizens on Patrol Association (ACOPA).
“She’s a wealth of information; she got me started on a lot of stuff, send me some forms, a reference manual, told me what we have to do to form a society,” Shannon said.
“Right now, we’re trying to get people to sign on as board members. The more the merrier!”
Shannon noted he wants the COP group to include not only the Town of Peace River, but surrounding communities, to mirror the area covered by Peace River Regional RCMP.
“We’re aiming to get one big, strong group and have members for all the neighbouring towns, who would patrol in their own town.”
Requirements for being a member of COP are passing an RCMP security check and being 18 years of age.
“There is also a youth program once we get up and running,” Shannon said. “It is a great tool for young people who want to get into law enforcement.”
Shannon pointed out that while “COP is the eyes and ears of the police – they’re eyes and ears only. There’s no direct contact with anyone. If we see something suspicious – everybody keeps a log book – we record suspicious incidents, call the RCMP immediately if needed.
“Another (factor) about COP – if there’s a major disaster such as flooding… the RCMP will call COP if they feel they need their assistance.”
Shannon added, “Once the society is formed, COP members are assigned a registration number so if something is recorded, if we report something to the RCMP, we track it with that number.”
Shannon invited inquiries about joining the group.
Cst. Nathan Mackay, Peace River Regional RCMP Community Liason, said COP “is a program that is very effective. It enables the… group to essentially be our eyes and ears on the street”.
“What they’re able to do through our dispatch service is to alert us to suspicious or illegal activity. This is a group that we’re aware of, who we work with closely, so we know they’re out there and well-trained.”
Tom Shannon is aiming to get a Citizens on Patrol (COP) group started in the Peace region. He shared a poster about the organization with the Record-Gazette Monday, Dec. 29. JOANNE McQUARRIE/Record-Gazette
