The community safety officer pilot program is set and ready to start. This project, which is the first of its kind in the province, required an amendment to the Police Services Act, and eight officers will now be hired in Thompson.
James Allum, minister of justice, travelled to Thompson on April 27 to make the announcement. “While there is a law enforcement provision to the community safety officer program, they’re primarily about crime prevention strategies and intervention strategies connecting folks in need with social services agencies so they get the help and treatment, the support and resources they need.”
The officers will be hired in Thompson, but will have constant contact with the provincial government about status of the program, as well as social service agencies around the city.
Mayor Dennis Fenske has been a key person in making this program possible in Thompson, and has been working in the background on this issue for the past five years. “It’s taken a great team, some time, and a lot of players that have been involved from the province, the city, and partners in the community, so it’s an accomplishment by all. I want to recognize former mayor Tim Johnston and his leadership, and the previous council, and minister [Andrew] Swan as his role of previous minister of justice.”
The new officers will work with local enforcement to implement different crime prevention strategies, enforce the Liquor and Gaming Control Act, the Intoxicated Persons Detention Act, the Child and Family Services Act, the Mental Health Act, and the Highway Traffic Act.
Asst. Commissioner Kevin Brosseau, commanding officer of the RCMP in Manitoba, said it’s about helping the most vulnerable when they need the help. Brosseau noted he was a doubter at first, but that quickly changed with the can-do attitude he noticed Thompson residents have. “There were 50 reasons why this could not work, but we always focused on the one reason why it could. The one reason why it could happen was in fact the people of Thompson care about their community, and they want their community to be the type of place where you can walk, be safe, and enjoy it as you should.”
The Manitoba government will help fund the first two years of the program with the City of Thompson, which will cost $600,000 per year. After the two years are up, discussions will be held about how the program performed, and what needs to be changed before the rest of the province hires their own community safety officers.
Steve Ashton, MLA for Thompson, said although there were many tough discussions about the program, this is a success story for Thompson. “We used to call ourselves the model mining community, I think our interest increasingly is to be the model community. That means intervening, providing help to the most vulnerable, and it means making sure our citizens are safe and feel safe at any time, anywhere in our community.”
Community safety officers will be hired in May, and workers will start patrolling by June 15.
