WESTLOCK — Members of the Westlock RCMP detachment recently took part in a couple of informal “Coffee with a Cop” sessions with the residents of Jarvie and Fawcett last week where they went over local concerns relating to rural crime.
Staff Sgt. Jeff Sehn said he and a couple of staff members, as well as the county’s peace officers, went out to Jarvie on April 29 and Fawcett on May 1 to meet with members of the community at two sessions organized by Citizens on Patrol (COP).
“COP (up there set it all up, and invited us out,” he said, noting the sessions were held at the local community halls and drop-in centres in both communities.
About 20 to 30 people turned out for both sessions, said Sehn. They expressed concerns about property crimes and prolific offenders, but also talked about how they could be involved in crime prevention.
“There was a lot of interest in what they could do to help,” Sehn said.
He said the provided some information about crime prevention through environmental design, or how to make a business or property less of a target for opportunistic thieves.
When asked if they were planning to do more of these informal sessions, Sehn said that was the plan, though they are still working out some of the details.
We provided information on how to make your business or property a harder program
“Ultimately, we’re going to start doing Coffee with a Cop monthly,” he said. “We hope to roll that out soon.”
