Concern surrounding safety has been growing since a string of thefts, break-ins, and a violent attack shook the Town of Niverville earlier this year. As a result, several new programs have been implemented through the efforts of both town council and private citizens.
Citizens on Patrol
The Niverville Crime Prevention Program (NCPP) is a revision to the previous Citizens on Patrol Program and has come together quite well according to Jim Buys, Niverville’s chief administrative officer.
“The NCPP follows the principles contained within the original COPP that was first introduced to the community by former councillor Fred Kaita,” Buys says.
The NCPP offers citizens the opportunity to get directly involved with the safety of their community. Essentially, volunteers work a number of evening hours as often as they choose, serving as the eyes and ears of the community. Volunteers are tasked with surveillance, while the municipal office provides those volunteers with the use of the town truck, which is equipped with a dash camera, a reporting file, and an instructions binder. The information collected is forwarded to the RCMP for their records and follow-up as needed.
“[The volunteers’] training is to see suspicious activity and report it,” says Mayor Myron Dyck. “The training involves filling out the necessary information that is beneficial to police and not become involved with anyone, in any way. The job is to report.”
Training sessions are provided. Dyck is quick to point out that privacy and safety are a high priority when it comes to the identity of volunteers who participate in the program. Anyone interested in volunteering with the program is encouraged to contact the town office.
Meanwhile, the communities of Ritchot have implemented their own volunteer program in response to spiking crime. The Richot Citizens on Patrol Program (COPP) is operated by volunteers in the communities of St. Adolphe, Ste. Agathe, Grande Pointe, and Île-des-Chênes. The group patrols on foot, bicycle, or other means as required for surveillance and report efforts.
Neighbourhood Watch
Following a meeting with Niverville’s town council on February 7, local resident Barry Piasta spearheaded the Neighbourhood Watch Program. The program consists of signage on both residential properties as well as signs throughout the community in order to deter criminals. The program splits the town into regions—north, south, east, and west. Each region is to be monitored on a volunteer basis by residents. So far, the program has 10 volunteer participants. Piasta says that they are working closely alongside town council regarding further safety and surveillance efforts.
Piasta has also enlisted the help of Adam Jakab from Guardian Advanced Solutions. They hope that a Community Connectivity website can be set up in the future, allowing users to share information regarding suspicious activity. This may include camera feeds for those on the system. The website will be the first of its kind.
Piasta also hopes that the Community Connectivity program will expand to include other towns in the surrounding area.
Surveillance Grants
According to Mayor Dyck, Niverville has a three-part approach to policing. First, the town has made a formal request for a greater police presence in the community. The second part is the ongoing call for volunteers in the NCPP. The third part is a new surveillance camera policy recently passed by town council.
Council will offer grants to as many as 50 businesses, churches, and schools to install cameras on their properties, as long as those cameras meet police specifications. The $200 annual grants will be renewable up to five years, for a total of $1,000.
Dyck has noted that the possibility still exists for a dedicated town police force in the future, but that the population will need to exceed 5,000 residents first.
Piasta says that he feels Niverville is a great place to live, and that the town is always striving for the best. He notes that the steps already in motion serve to solidify that ideal when it comes to safety in the community.
