Trail Council Approves RCMP Downtown Foot Patrol Plan
By City of Trail
Trail City Council recently met with the Sergeant from the Trail RCMP to discuss concerns associated with public safety throughout the community, including Trail’s downtown core and neighbourhoods. At the meeting a number of options were discussed to determine if enforcement could be enhanced for the remainder of the summer. Trail Council in consultation with the RCMP have decided to activate semiweekly downtown and public spaces foot patrols until the end of September 2020. Trail Council will fund the patrols from the Policing Services Budget. The RCMP will report back to Council as part of keeping statistics in order to monitor the impacts of this enhancement.
“The City takes our citizens’ concerns and safety very seriously,” said Mayor Lisa Pasin. “These are very challenging times and we are very aware of the unwanted activity in our city. Although increased foot patrols won’t solve all the issues we are currently facing, it is a proactive step in the right direction. We appreciate the RCMP’s willingness to step up and offer this service, and we are hopeful that the increased police presence will help quell some of the problems we are experiencing.”
The foot patrols will occur twice a week in the evenings (one weekday and one day on the weekend when operationally feasible) and will consist of two RCMP members working together as a team. These additional foot patrols will supplement the RCMP’s regular vehicle and foot patrol shifts already being conducted and will rely on the officers working overtime.
In addition to evening foot patrols, the City is also seeking a cost proposal for daytime patrols from the local private security company that already provides evening patrol service for the City. “Council will review and consider this information at the upcoming Council Meeting on Monday, August 17, 2020,” said Pasin. “Once the new patrols are underway, the City and RCMP will review and monitor the program. At the end of September we will make a decision on how to continue. In the meantime, we encourage the public to remain observant and to report criminal activity to the RCMP. We also extend a huge thank you to our citizens for their expressions of concern.”
