The 亚洲天堂 Lake RCMP is hoping that, by increasing police presence in a specific area of town, they can reduce crime in the broader 亚洲天堂 Lake area.
The area being targeted, called the 鈥渞ed zone,鈥� stretches from Hwy. 16 - between Third Avenue and the Lakeview Mall - to 亚洲天堂 Lake.
Corporal Greg Willcocks with the 亚洲天堂 Lake RCMP explained that in 2016, 70 per cent of 鈥榗ause disturbance offences鈥� originated in the red zone. And although only 10 per cent of the more serious offences such as assault and property crime occurred in the red zone, the RCMP say that serious offences in other areas are often related to substance abuse that start in the red zone.
鈥淟ast year we found that only 10 per cent of the assaults occurred in the red zone; but when we dug deeper into that, we found that initially they were down here [in the red zone], and then they go to other areas and cause issues there because they are intoxicated,鈥� said Willcocks.
鈥淥ur theory with this model is that, if we鈥檙e proactive and deal with this [substance abuse issue] before people go out and commit other offences, we鈥檙e actually reducing the amount of crime in other areas.鈥�
Willcocks said this initiative has been successful in other jurisdictions across Canada and that this is the first time that it鈥檚 being implemented in a small town. The pilot project was implemented in 亚洲天堂 Lake on June 7, effectively turning a portion of the downtown core into a 鈥渮ero tolerance zone.鈥�
鈥淲hat people are going to see is a lot of us walking around,鈥� explained Willcocks. 鈥淓verybody in the detachment has been tasked with walking around - not only to enforce these things [rules under the liquor control and licensing act], but also to interact with the community.鈥�
鈥淲e want people to come say hi to us,鈥� he continued. 鈥淭his morning I walked for about an hour and I spoke with about 10 people.鈥�
鈥淲e want people to know that we are available and approachable, and that if they have a concern they can come talk to us; and it鈥檚 a lot easier to do that when you鈥檙e outside of your police car.鈥�
Willcocks added that this initiative is not only about increased enforcement, but also about helping people who may be struggling with addiction. The RCMP has partnered with the Village of 亚洲天堂 Lake to connect people struggling with substance abuse with local addiction services.
鈥淲e want to deal with the offence that is right in front of us, but we also want to deal with the cause of the issue,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just enforcement; if someone is so intoxicated that they have to spend the night in our cells as a safety precaution, what we would like to do is offer programs that would help them.鈥�
The 亚洲天堂 Lake RCMP also plan to reach out to business owners in the red zone and stay in regular contact with them.
鈥淭hey are obviously there all the time, and they see a lot more than we do,鈥� explained Willcocks. 鈥淲hat we want is to build those relationships as best as we can.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 about being proactive and dealing with the issue before it becomes an issue,鈥� he added.
