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N.B. City Hall starting CSO program assessment

Oct 10, 2018 | 12:01 PM

North Battleford’s Community Safety Officer (CSO) program will be under the microscope over the year ahead.

The city’s CSOs were granted increased responsibilities starting in June, 2017. The aim was for officers to take on more follow-up work related to low-risk offences, which in turn would help free up the Battlefords RCMP officers’ time so they could work on more serious investigations and crimes in-progress.

City Manager Randy Patrick said he will review the program focusing on the CSOs added responsibilities during the past year.

“Peace officers are given certain authority levels,” he said. “They are not full police officers; they are in-between. We want to see now how that does help the RCMP. That’s the idea.”

Patrick said council asked him to provide an immediate review of the program. He proposed delaying the review for a year to have time to complete a thorough report looking at the CSO responsibilities, including more recent efforts.

The CSOs have two responsibilities – city bylaw enforcement as well as enhanced authorities granted by the province, such as assisting the RCMP with follow up work on crimes not in progress.  

In completing his report Patrick plans to meet with various stakeholders including the RCMP and downtown businesses, the province, the public and city staff to gather feedback. He will also be looking at what type of calls for service the officers responded to.

He will present a report of his findings to council by the end of November 2019. 

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow