Click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter
Town hall in Battleford. (Image Credit: Alyssa Rudolph/ battlefordNOW Staff)
NEW FEATURE

Battleford councilor promotes transparency with new Community Safety Dashboard

Apr 8, 2026 | 3:19 PM

For town councilor, Clay Lazar, ‘transparency needs to be key’.  

That’s why he created a Community Safety Dashboard that will be easily accessible on Battleford’s website and social media platforms in the near future. 

Town of Battleford Community Dashboard draft.
Town of Battleford Community Dashboard draft. (Image Credit: Town of Battleford)

“Statistics have been known to the public, but not available to the public,” said Lazar. “You have to really dig deep to find those statistics and figure out what’s actually happening in your community. This would be a quick access to any community member living in Battleford to understand what’s happening in their community when it comes to safety.” 

His product includes information about local policing, bylaw enforcement, fire department statistics, and patrol information from Public Safety Officers (PSO) and Battlefords Citizens on Patrol.  

“Before I got on to council, I was always wondering what our services were actually providing. Our taxpayers are paying RCMP, they’re paying fire, they’re paying our PSO in our town, and it shows where their money’s going to, and they need to be aware of what actual services they’re getting and how those services are providing a safer environment for them as a taxpayer,” he explained.  

Lazar referred back to the council’s strategic planning meeting at the beginning of the year. That is where the six councillors established a focus on safety within the community, and where he first brought up the dashboard idea.  

“It kind of floated around for a little bit and it was an idea that Mayor Ames Leslie wanted to pursue after I suggested it. I kind of went forward with it on my own just because I wanted this to be out to the people of our community as fast as possible.” 

The councillor began by approaching the town clerk, Shawn Sylvester and Chief Administrative Officer, Landon Chambers to help him develop the product.  

“I am actually kind of taken back on how fast this has kind of developed. Landon and Shawn really got the ball rolling fast and created something that was easy for the public to understand,” said Lazar.  

With this dashboard, he also hopes to track trends happening within the community.  

“It’s more so just understanding where these events are happening and what’s actually happening. When it comes to break and enters or even mischief or anything like that. Then we can give suggestions on how we can prevent those things.” 

Leslie said he is excited about this new feature. 

“Whenever a member of council has an idea and they can bring it to fruition and it’s going to add value to our community, I think it’s a sign that these people are invested in Battleford and want to make it better, and this is an example of that.” 

An official launch date for the Community Safety dashboard is yet to be determined, but Leslie said it will be available very soon.  

Alyssa.rudolph@pattisonmedia.com