A local citizen has taken the initiative to engage Lacombe Police, as well as the general community, into starting a ‘Citizens on Patrol’ group.
Ed L’Ecluse has approached Lacombe Police Chief Steve Murray and together the two have come up with some guidelines to approach the community regarding the program.
A meeting will be held on Jan. 28th at 6 p.m. at the YU-Turn Centre that will open the dialogue between community members to see how the group should proceed.
“The meeting is going to be an opportunity for residents who are interested in making Lacombe a safer, better place for everyone to live in and to talk about some of the strategies that we can use to make that happen,” Murray said.
“This is really to gauge community interest and to talk about the philosophy of how communities truly become safer.”
Murray said that it is not the responsibility of the Police force, Neighbourhood watch, Citizens on Patrol or individuals alone – it is the responsibility of all these groups to come together to make Lacombe feel comfortable and safe for all its residents.
All interested members of the community are encouraged to attend and meet with Murray, L’Ecluse and Mayor Steve Christie among other City officials to discuss the needs of the community and the best course of action to address those needs.
“There is a perception that the amount of and seriousness of crime in Central Alberta is on the rise. Certainly, community awareness has increased with this perception and I think that’s where a lot of the interest for this group is coming from,” Murray said.
“I think people should bear in mind that this is an inaugural type opportunity to meet and discuss their perceptions of Lacombe and some ideas of how we can make it safer. People will have the Chief of Police in the room to have some dialogue. It’s not going to be about specific issues – it’s about overall community safety and crime prevention.”
The group has a Facebook page titled ‘Lacombe Citizens on Patrol – Taking Back Lacombe’. The page is being used to communicate updates regarding the meeting and plans for the group. Check there for updates.
“The essence of this is that this has to be a long-term commitment from every citizen to do their part to achieve the safe community that they want,” Murray said.
The meeting will serve as a ground to discuss potential plans of how the group can perform at its best.