Grumblings on Facebook about ongoing thefts in the Diamond Valley area is prompting one woman to get residents off their computers and onto the streets.
Turner Valley resident Yvonne Machan is working to revive the defunct Citizens On Patrol (COP)program in Black Diamond and Turner Valley to get residents patrolling the streets, acting as the eyes and ears for law enforcement.
“It’s a good program and it’s a needed program in the Turner Valley and Black Diamond area because of the recent rash of crimes,” she said. “The police can’t be everywhere all the time so they do need that extra help. The more eyes we’ve got out there the better.”
RCMP responded to the theft of some ATVS, holiday trailers and a pick-up truck in December.
Machan volunteered with COP before it fizzled several years ago. She decided to revive it after reading complaints on Facebook about local law enforcement.
“People were saying, ‘Why aren’t the police doing their job?’” she said. “I get upset when everyone says, ‘What are the cops doing? They are handing out speeding tickets and sitting at Tim Hortons.’ I think the police are doing their job, but they can’t do everything all the time.”
Machan posted her idea to revive the program and was met with a positive response. Her sister-in-law Loral Luchia is helping out.
“I think this is really good program and it’s very much needed in this area,” said Machan. “Right now, with the wave of crime that’s going on, everyone wants to do something about it, but keeping the interest up is a little hard sometimes. Hopefully we can get it going and hopefully keep the interest up and keep it running this time.”
Volunteers must have a drivers’ license, obtain a criminal record check and attend regular training. Once approved, they drive around the community in their own vehicle and report suspicious activity to the RCMP, Machan said.
“There is no getting out of your car, there is no confronting people, there is no taking the law into your own hands,” she said. “You see what you see, you report it and you move on.”
Ken McIntosh, former Citizens On Patrol president, said the program started in the 1990s with roughly 50 volunteers at its peak and ran for about 15 years.
“That dwindled down to about 30 some after a couple of years,” he said. “Eventually it got down to about a dozen and it just wasn’t worth spending our gas and our time. Finally we just ran out of volunteers and people that really wanted to commit. There were so few people it didn’t make it worthwhile anymore.”
McIntosh said he’s glad to see Machan working to get the program up and running in the community again.
“Yvonne was one of the original members – she was enthusiastic,” he said. “I’d done a lot of patrols with her.”
While McIntosh recalls the group never having trouble getting financing from grants and other sources, he said the key to a successful program is to get backing from the local detachment.
Turner Valley RCMP Sgt. Paulina Larrey-King said the detachment is in support of the community wanting to take ownership of their environment and assist police officers when done properly.
“Any time that people become engaged in their community it’s a positive for everybody,” she said. “It comes down to the proper training and proper reporting.”
Larrey-King said police officers can’t be everywhere so it’s important for citizens to act as an extra set of eyes and ears when possible.
“There are times we are more available and times we are tied up with duties that move us to another location or simply require us to be following up with our paper work as well,” she said. “It’s no different than any other community.”
Larrey-King said she’s worked in communities with active COP programs in the past and that it’s the role of detachments to oversee the programs and provide guidance.
“Our role is more of a coordinated type of administrative role, depending on many factors that will dictate how much we are involved,” she said. “We are coordinating with them what they need to do.”
Machan said she’s been in contact with the Alberta Citizens on Patrol Association to take the next steps to get the program off the ground, including applying to be a society, becoming incorporated and getting a liaison officer with the local detachment.
In the coming weeks she plans to host a public meeting to determine community interest in the program.
“I would like to have at least 20 people, if not more,” she said. “The more you get the less number of times you have to go out per month.”
For more information or to state an interest in volunteering contact Yvonne Machan at 403-933-5818, 403-988-5537 or [email protected]
