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New Viking RCMP Commander Sgt. Stack says he hopes to build on community relationships Patricia Harcourt Editor
Sgt. Ray Stack joined the Viking RCMP Detachment as its new commander on Oct. 7 and looks forward to working and building relationships in the community. PATRICIA HARCOURT PHOTO
Viking RCMP Detachment’s new commander wants to bring a burst of community engagement into the job. Sgt. Ray Stack is also hoping to up the ante against property crime in the community and vehicle theft. He sees these two as the major policing issues for Viking and area. Stack arrived Oct. 7 to take over the police chief position, “I was busy from the start,” he said. His last posting prior to this was in Vegreville where he picked up a lot of experience. “I was there for five years,” he said. Having graduated from the RCMP Depot in Regina in 2009, he brings a large body of experience to this new job. “At Vegreville, there was a good number of police officers and we did a lot of work on crime prevention, drugs and mental health.” Stack is married with a daughter and plans to do some commuting when on his days off. In the meantime, he is enthusiastically embracing community policing initiatives such as youth and sports programs in the school. “We have lots of plans to engage with the school and community,” he said, while emphasizing the need for crime prevention initiatives as well.
And he has noticed that property theft is on the rise, while suspecting there are people visiting from outside the community who may be responsible. “A few people are coming from the city and befriending people from here,” he said, noting it appears to be bringing crime into the area. “That relationship’s got to stop.” He urged residents to call the RCMP, if they see strangers in town. “If they are not living here, what are they doing here?” he asked, stating that this is how property theft often happens. His advice to residents is to “lock everything.” But he called vehicle thefts “the biggest thing in Viking…It’s happening right in daylight.” Residents have to be watchful of what is happening around them, and suspicious when things don’t seem to add up. “If you don’t recognize somebody and they look suspicious, and it’s out of the ordinary and they don’t look like they belong, give us a call,” he said. “We can find out what they are doing here.” Stack’s emphasis going forward will be on working with the community and working to increase crime prevention. “I want to build that relationship,” he said.