FEBRUARY 19, 2020
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Citizens On Patrol Organizational Meeting Held in Vegreville Rosanne Fortier News Correspondent Vegreville RCMP plan to make it very difficult for offenders to commit crime because more people are going to be their eyes and ears in the community. This was one of the statements Terry Hyggen, Staff Sergeant of the from Ve g r e v i l l e RC M P Detachment made during the Citizens On Patrol (C.O.P.) organizational meeting on Feb. 10 in the Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) committee room. Hyggen told attendees, about 30 in total, there is a strong need for the community of Vegreville to have a C.O.P. program as there has been a significant increase in property crime over the last five years. “Property crime has increased by 21 per cent and persons crime has decreased by 21 per cent. Property crime has seen an increase due to addictions, unemployment and the
Phil Rowe, Community Services Director, Constable Agoos, and Staff Sergeant, Hyggen. (Rosanne Fortier/photo)
political and judicial inability to address these root causes,” pointed out Hyggen. “Vegreville RCMP have been actively working on plans to build strategies to reduce these incidents from happening. The RCMP have challenges to deal with and it is essential to have extra eyes and ears in the community; and that is where volunteers come in, and can be a great assis-
tance to the RCMP through the C.O.P. program.” He went on to say, volunteers will receive special training, be given instruc-
tion on personal safety and be taught how to detect crime when it occurs. Hyggen said the role of the RCMP is to act as liaison,
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