Looking at things from a different perspective can often yield unexpected outcomes and positive results – and that is what the Airdrie RCMP is hoping to do with a new summer patrol initiative that partners with the City.
The RCMP has partnered with Airdrie Municipal Enforcement on a summer bike patrol project called Pedal Partners. The collaboration is intended to engage local police with residents in a positive manner while also addressing nuisance concerns within their communities.
Pedal Partners began on June 28 and is expected to run until Sept. 8.
RCMP Cpl. James McConnell, the media relations officer for the Airdrie detachment, said the project is twofold as they hope to positively connect with community members while simultaneously handling any nuisance affairs.
“Being out there in the community being visible, engaging with community members, and also handling any kind of nuisance issues,” McConnell said, when asked what the project's intentions. “Whether that be graffiti, car prowling, disturbances on pathways or anywhere in the community, or anything the community brings to us.”
According to McConnell, residents have shown an overwhelming positive response to the initiative in its first four weeks. He said they have been able to achieve both enforcement and preventative work in catching people taking part in minor offences that often get overlooked.
The project allows officers to connect with members of the public who direct them to areas of concern within the community. McConnell said due to increased engagement, the RCMP then has more information to work with, allowing them to better organize and respond to issues that may arise.
“As we have officers out in the street and talking to members of the public, they're kind of directing us where to go and letting us know what problems they're seeing in their communities,” he said.
Partnering with Circle K and Dairy Queen, the RCMP and Airdrie Municipal Enforcement are using positive reinforcement by giving away frosters or Dilly bars to those showcasing positive behaviour.
Looking at the benefits of Pedal Partners already, McConnell said it focuses on community engagement and recognizing that officers are part of the community. He added the initiative has given them the opportunity to explore areas where police cars are unable to go.
“If an officer 'catches' a kid wearing a helmet, or a resident helping out cleaning up some litter, we have the ability to give them a treat from other one of our sponsors,” McConnell said. “[We want to show] that our officers are a part of the community and also getting to some areas that we don't always get to in police cars.”
As the program continues for the remainder of summer, McConnell said they are keeping track of where officers have been and the number of files they have generated. He added they will assess Pedal Partners' effectiveness after the program has wrapped up on Sept. 8.
McConnell said community response is harder to measure and encourages residents to reach out to the Airdrie RCMP or members of City council to voice their opinions on the Pedal Partners project.
“The easy things to track are going to be of course, the number of hours or locations, number of files, number of tickets,” he said. “The hardest things are the community response, so if there's members of the public that enjoy the program and like what it has to offer, then we encourage them to let us know and let their members of council know as well.”
