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When a woman went missing on Feb. 14 in North Battleford following a carjacking, a group of volunteers was ready to help.
The Battlefords Citizens on Patrol — also known as Citizens on Patrol program (COPP) — is a group of volunteers who work with local law enforcement to serve as an extra set of eyes and ears on the ground.
Doug Fehr is the board chair of the Battlefords group and the Saskatchewan Citizens on Patrol Association.
Luckily, the group wasn’t needed as RCMP found the woman safe at a home later that evening.
“Sometimes the RCMP will ask for our assistance,” Fehr said. “Usually, it’s when they know that we’re already out on patrol. Sometimes they will phone and see if we are on patrol and then ask for assistance.”
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The group of around 30 volunteers patrols in pairs, looking for suspicious activity in their community.
“If we see suspicious activity, we either report it directly to the RCMP or, if it’s less urgent, we make a record of it in a smartphone app that we use,” he said.
The Battlefords group patrols the town of Battleford and the city of North Battleford, which are approximately 10 minutes drive apart.
He said the group patrols areas where crime rates are higher.
“We’re similar to any other community where certain neighbourhoods are perhaps prone a little more to crime, no different from Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Regina or Yorkton,” Fehr explained.
The volunteers are asked to do a minimum of 12 patrols a year for a few hours at a time. But Fehr said there’s no set schedule, as most volunteers work full-time jobs.
The group of around 30 Battlefords Citizens on Patrol volunteers patrol in pairs for a couple hours at a time. They’re asked to patrol at least 12 times a year. (Battlefords Citizens on Patrol/Submitted)
“We don’t get out every single day, but there will be days where we’ll be out three, four days in a row,” he said.
Fehr has been involved with the group for five years, and got involved after being “fed up” with nuisance crime.
“I got kind of fed up with that and thought I can complain about it or I can do something about it,” he said.
It’s hard for the group to gauge just how much it has helped crime rates in the area. He said a big part of the group is being a crime deterrent.
“I know one of the RCMP members we were meeting with the other night had commented that vehicle thefts are down significantly in the Battlefords, and he attributed that in part to a social media campaign that we run,” Fehr said.
That campaign is called “The 9 p.m. routine,” and it reminds people to lock up their vehicles and sheds and turn on an outside light at 9 p.m.
There are 15 citizen patrol groups across the province in communities like Regina, Candle Lake, Yorkton, Kindersley, Wilkie, Shaunavon, Assiniboia, Alida, Nipawin and Tisdale. Citizens in Saskatoon are planning to start a group there, too.
Fehr said if anyone wants to get involved, people can visit the Saskatchewan Citizens on Patrol Association website.
He encourages others to help out in their community.
“It’s not difficult work,” he said.
“We keep it as safe as possible. That’s one of the perceptions people have, (that) it’s dangerous, it’s not. Safety is our first, second and third priority, and we do it on the volunteers’ time.”
Volunteers must be at least 18 with a valid driver’s licence and a clear criminal record.
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