EDITOR,
I am writing this letter in response to the article, "RCMP want CPO re-opened" (Chief, Feb. 3).
I have been a resident of Squamish since 1974 and I have been volunteering for various groups and agencies since moving here 38 years ago. I began volunteering for the RCMP since 2006 and up until November 2010, worked at the Community Police Office on Cleveland Avenue. I must say, the Squamish RCMP volunteer program operates on a very professional level and provides excellent training opportunities to volunteers ranging in age from 16 to 82. We are made to feel valued and part of the local policing family.
I, along with other dedicated RCMP Community Policing volunteers, provided a service to those folks who live, work and frequent the downtown area. We provided information about many different crime prevention programs, promoted community and public safety and provided some of the same services offered at the detachment. A big part of our mandate was to provide excellence in client service delivery. We strived to make everyone who walked through our doors leave feeling like their questions and concerns had been answered, or they had been referred to where they needed to go.
How do we measure the value of crime prevention? How do we know how many crimes against persons and property are deterred by the many programs that formerly operated out of the downtown community policing office? We can all look at statistics and reports and draw conclusions of some sort. We know that crime exists, we know that people are fearful of crime, and we know that people want to feel safe in their community. All of the crime prevention programs endeavour to address and reduce crime and criminal behaviour.
I know that every Wednesday, while fulfilling my volunteer shift, I made a difference for at least one person on that day. For the past 15 months, I have been volunteering at the detachment doing some clerical duties. I hope that I, along with the remaining Community Policing volunteers, are able to get back to doing what we were trained to do, and passionate about doing!
Denise Whitmore
Squamish
