Citizens On Patrol Organizational Meeting Held in Vegreville

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 Veg reville RCMP 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.

Phil Rowe, Community Services Director, Constable Agoos, and Staff Sergeant, Hyggen.

(Rosanne Fortier/photo)

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 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 assistance to the RCMP through the C.O.P. program.”

He went on to say, volunteers will receive special training, be given instruction 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, and to that end, Constable Daniel Agoos has been appointed as the fulltime RCMP Liaison Officer. “You don’t have to bring your own gas to go out and do patrols or use your own vehicle. The goal of the program is that no one has any personal costs. It is just their time, and that is the most valuable thing to us. We need the help and want to build relationships. One of the most fun parts of my job is patrolling as it has a huge impact on the community,”said Hyggen.

Vegreville and Area Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) spearheaded the C.O.P program with Phil Rowe, Community Services Director, Staff Sergeant Terry Hyggen and Cst. Daniel Agoos.

Agoos made a presentation on behalf Alberta Citizens On Patrol Association (ACOPA), which is the provincial body that assists COP groups throughout Alberta. Currently, there are 69 COP groups in Alberta.

Agoos said the C.O.P program is not something that the RCMP sets up, but instead, is something that needs to be set up through the community where they will need to form a society with an executive and appoint a president who will oversee the C.O.P. The ACOPA will assist you in setting up the program. “Once you get your group of people, everyone will have to go through a criminal record check and that will be going through the Vegreville RCMP Detachment. As well, there is also an application process you will have to fill out that gets screened by ACOPA administration.” He walked attendees through the other steps that are needed to form a C.O.P. and fielded questions.

Facilitators said they wanted people to tell their family and friends about the C.O.P. program. Anyone 18 years of age and older can apply. For more information contact FCSS.