Mounties Asking Northern Citizens For More Tips

Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 14:33

 

 

The RCMP is appealing to northern Saskatchewan residents to help the force crack down on drug and alcohol-related crime.

 

Yesterday at the Northern Justice Symposium in Prince Albert, the Mounties talked about their northern drug strategy.

 

Cst. Mark Thibideaux is one of the officers who works on the file.

 

Thibideaux says they are trying to gather as much information from northern communities as possible through Crime Stoppers and from confidential sources.

 

He notes many officers in the north are relatively inexperienced, which is why they need as much information as possible.

 

Meanwhile, the RCMP says a growing number of residents in the province’s north are beginning to patrol their own communities.

 

Cpl. Shannon Mansbridge addressed delegates at the symposium earlier today about the Citizens On Patrol program.

 

The initiative pairs up groups of northerners with the RCMP in an effort to curb crime in their communities.

 

Mansbridge says many perpetrators simply wait for RCMP cruisers to exit their communities before carrying out their crimes.

 

But she says those plans sometimes change whey they see a sign that states citizens are watching.

 

Mansbridge says there has been a noticeable reduction in crime among communities that have adopted the program.