Cochin holds final RCMP Town Hall for 2018

“(There was a) very positive response from the community members,” he said. “The engagement has been very good; we’ve had very positive feedback from (them) about the delivery of service from the detachment.”

Sgt. Woolfitt outlined the concerns from community members, including rural property crime, what people can do to support one another to deter the cime, and the different measures that could be taken in certain situations.

A big acknowledgement went out to Citizens on Patrol and the rural crime watch to continue to keep the neighbourhoods safe and safeguard citizens property, and continuing to leverage technology to keep the streets safe. Woolfitt outlined the installation of cameras and keeping the lighting atequate to make the streets as safe as possible.

Being a resort community, there is quite the population increase in the summer, running generally from the end of may and into September. Some of the residents brought forth concerns on traffic, the issues of impaired driving, and quads and golf carts being driven throughout the resort, sometimes by underage residents.

Sgt. Woolfitt says that the Traffic Safety Act is heavily leaned on when it comes to some of the ladder issues within the resort.

“As far as enforcement activities go, the council has respected the fact that we can rely on the traffic safety act in order to conduct any enforcement required in regards to those motor vehicles,” he said. “There’s a concern that there are young people operating these motor vehicles in the resort community.”

The age limit is 16 when it comes to operating motor vehicles, and it was addressed as a safety concern. Sgt. Woolfitt reminded residents that these motor vehicles- such as quads, ATV’s, golf carts, and side by sides- should be operated in the suitable areas, such as a golf course for golf carts or rural settings for ATV’s.

One good thing about policing this, Sgt. Woolfitt said, is that it is pretty easy in the smaller centres to track and know who is operating the vehicles, and that it usually just takes a short talk with the parents in most situations.

“It doesn’t take much (after a couple enquiries) to figure out who the family is and who the kids are that are operating,” he said. “Most of the time it’s a conversation with the parents to bring them up to speed with the traffic laws.”

Overall, Sgt. Woolfitt says that the numbers for calls for service in the area have stayed the same through the past few years.

This was the final RCMP Town Hall for 2018, but the detachment is planning more for the spring, Sgt. Woolfitt says.

brady.lang@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @BradyLangCJNB

by Brady Lang

Cochin holds final RCMP Town Hall for 2018

What's Trending