WESTLOCK – Resident shouldn’t expect the Westlock RCMP to hold a formal public gathering any time soon, with the detachment commander saying they’ve charted a new course and will focus on informal events like the inaugural First Responders Rally Baseball Game and the Westlock VSU Summer Celebration to connect with the community.
During his four-year tenure in Westlock, RCMP Staff Sgt. Al Baird has made community engagement a key pillar in the detachment’s day-to-day operations and presents the region’s crimes stats regularly to Town of Westlock and Westlock County councillors, plus does regular interviews with the local media.
And while many neighbouring detachments have recently hosted public open houses — the two most recent being in Neerlandia and Athabasca — Baird said that unless there’s a “lightning rod” issue, most people tend to shy away from formal open houses and can be intimidated by the format.
In addition, Baird told county councillors recently that they’ve ramped up in-person community engagement with things like crime prevention talks and school appearances and hope to do 27 visits this year to all of the community’s schools. He also noted the re-introduction of the positive ticketing program they run in conjunction with the town and county peace officers as being another way to break down barriers between youth and law enforcement.
“We’ve taken a different approach this year so anytime we’ve had big events we’ve had the members there to answer peoples’ questions. We’re looking for something different, a better approach and just a way to connect more,” said Baird Oct. 27.
“I had the members talking and engaging with the public as they walked around during both the VSU event, and the First Responders Game and they answered any questions they received. We also did the same at a COP barbeque up in Fawcett and it was well received.”
Baird recalled the last formal open house they had pre-pandemic that included Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken, plus a high-ranking RCMP officer from the District level, was sparsely attended. Meanwhile during the COVID-19 years, Baird asked the public to send in questions and received only a handful of replies.
“It seemed like a lot of effort for very little reward, so we needed to try something different. And it’s worked out well,” he continued. “Some people just wanted to chat with the members and to me that’s better than five or six members standing on a stage and not having any interaction. We want the public to know the officers and the officers to know the public.”
