BARRHEAD- Barrhead RCMP are hosting an ongoing virtual Town Hall meeting asking residents about their concerns or questions about policing and crime prevention.
Detachment commander Sgt. Bob Dodds said he had hoped to conduct the town hall in person, but unfortunately, COVID-19 public health restrictions make that impossible.
It will be the second virtual town hall the detachment has hosted in nine months. In March, he asked area residents for their input on its annual performance plan (APP).
The APP is a document that lists the policing priorities of a detachment for the coming year. The plan is done in consultation with municipal councils, which need to sign off on the document.
The Barrhead detachment serves the combined community of Barrhead, a large part of Woodlands County (mostly Fort Assiniboine) and a small corner of Lac Ste. Anne County.
In recent years, the RCMP and the local detachment have been attempting to increase public engagement, mostly through traditional town hall meetings.
The two most recent were in September 2019 at the Barrhead Seniors' Drop-in Centre and the Fort Assiniboine Legion. A third was tentatively planned for the Barrhead and Area Crime Coalition (BARCC) tradeshow that would have taken place in May.
"I really enjoyed the first two town halls, and it is unfortunate that we won't be able to host another one in the foreseeable future," Dodds said, admitting that ironically the electronic forums will reach more of the public. "If we can help people understand the system and what our limitations are, that eliminates a lot of the animosity that is directed at the police."
In the March virtual town hall, people were asked to direct what they wanted to see the police focus on as part of the APP as well as any other comments, concerns or questions they had to the detachment via e-mail.
Dodds said he chose that method because it is simpler and more people have access to it than some of the other platforms people have used during the pandemic.
"I want to keep it local," he said. "Obviously, a lot of the problems and issues Barrhead is facing do translate provincially and even nationally in some cases, but certainly I am more familiar with what we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis."
Responses should be directed to Sgt. Dodds at KBarrheadAdmin@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
Although he has set no firm deadline for responses, Dodds hopes the majority of people will send their comments no later than shortly into the New Year with responses starting in late January or early February.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com