South Peace Historical Society

    • Home
    • About / Contact Us
    • About Dorthea Horton
    • About This Collection
    • Bibliography
    • Brief History of the Peace
    • Credits
    • South Peace Historical Society Archives (External Link)
  • Table of Contents

    • Part 1: First Nations of the Peace River Region
    • Part 2: The Fur Trade Era
    • Part 3: Transportation and Communication
    • Part 4: Old Timers and the Price of Land
    • Part 5: Dawson Creek: The Story of the Community
    • Part 6: Mysteries, Adventures and Indian Legends
    • Part 7: Arts, Crafts and Recreation
    • Part 8: Agriculture
    • Part 9: Church Histories
    • Part 10: Schools
    • Part 11: Health Care
    • Part 12: Industries and Enterprises
    • Part 13: Policing the Peace
    • Part 14: Pouce Coupe, Rolla, and Other South Peace Communities
    • Part 15: Chetwynd and the Fort St. John Area
    • Part 16: The Alberta Peace
    • Part 17: Natural History of the Peace River Region
    • Part 18: Interviews with Old Timers
    • Part 19: Remembering Our Veterans

  •  

BN13-07: Community Policing Not Possible Without Volunteers

Recent History – 2000

Oct. 12, 2000

DAWSON CREEK — The concept of community policing truly has transformed the way the RCMP fights crime, Dawson Creek’s Staff Sgt. Gerry Falk said Tuesday.

Speaking at the Rotary Club’s luncheon, Falk said the biggest change has been that the Dawson Creek detachment can make policing decisions on its own.

“Now it’s, if it’s gonna help the community, we do it,” Falk said. “We don’t need anybody’s blessing.”

Well, actually, he added jokingly, “Now we can do it and talk about it. Before, we did it and didn’t tell Vancouver what we were doing.”

Community policing means the RCMP can count increasingly on the help of the public, both through improved communication through the media and through volunteers in the many crime prevention groups.

One aspect of community policing that has proven fruitful, Falk said, has been Business Watch, essentially a network of participating businesses that has given store owners the ability to quickly notify police and other businesses when something happens in their store.

The program played a huge role in the apprehension of two alleged counterfeiters who passed fake $100 bills at various Dawson Creek stores last month.

At a similar speech at the chamber of commerce luncheon last week, Falk joked about the fact the chase for the suspects damaged a police car and a boat parked in someone’s driveway.

“It’s the first high-speed chase where we lost a car and a boat.”

Business Watch also helped solve a case of credit card fraud earlier this year.

“The community starts to pull together and our phones don’t stop ringing Ñ it’s tremendous,” Falk said.

Other programs that have resulted in less crime in the community are the community justice program and the police-based victim services, both focusing more on the victims than ever before.

“We’re no longer pre-occupied with the rights of criminals,” Falk said. “The pendulum is swinging back to the law-abiding, taxpaying member of the community.”

Rotarians also heard from several other crime prevention groups, like Block Parents, a program that provides safe havens for anyone who feels threatened on the street; Speedwatch, a program that aims to increase the level of awareness among the city’s motorists about their speed and dangerous driving; Citizens on Patrol, formerly called the Vandal Watch, where citizens patrol city streets and report suspicious activities to the RCMP through two-way radios; Crime Stoppers, a program that provides a way for citizens to report crimes anonymously; and Rural Crime Watch, similar to Citizens on Patrol but patrolling rural areas.

Community Policing Officer, Const. Geri Demyen, who replaced Const. Russ Greer two months ago, oversees most of these programs.

Demyen told Rotarians the reason for the presentation Tuesday was two-fold: the RCMP wants Dawson Creek residents to have an idea of what these groups do, and none of these groups can function properly without enough volunteers, of which there are too few.

“I, as a police officer, can not get my job done without public participation,” Demyen said, adding that since becoming responsible for community policing, he has discovered that a large part of public participation is provided by volunteers.

“By volunteering, you’re helping your community Dawson Creek Ñ our community Dawson Creek — become a better place to live in,” he said.

Anyone interested in helping with any of the crime prevention programs can contact Const. Geri Demyen at 784-3700.

This article is taken from the Peace River Block Daily News, Dawson Creek, with the permission of the publisher. The Daily News retains all rights relating to this material. The information in this article is intended solely for research or general interest purposes.

« BN13-06: RCMP Telecoms Expanding to Serve You Faster

BN13-08: Policing Plan Gains Approval »

© 2023 South Peace Historical Society. All Rights Reserved.