Oceanside RCMP is hoping more people will use the detachment’s resources to help keep their homes secure.
At Monday’s (Jan. 29) Town of Qualicum Beach regular council meeting, Auxiliary Const. Mike Dally presented on the RCMP’s Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), a locally developed program that has been picked up by the federal government and featured in the RCMP magazine, The Gazette.
Dally helped to create the Secure-Us program using CPTED through the Oceanside RCMP detachment. The program, Dally said, is to provide outreach and help for victims of property crime.
Since the Secure-Us program’s inception in early 2017, Dally said the program has grown. He said the program has become a community “resource where people can gather information and have facts to make their lives and their homes secure.”
Dally said when Staff. Sgt. Marc Pelletier arrived at the detachment, Pelletier had a background in property-related crime.
“(Pelletier) saw a need in this community, given the demographic and type of crime we are subjected to, to create a program that we can give the community information to make them feel more secure in their own homes.”
Through the RCMP program Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, Dally said RCMP members will go to homes and conduct surveys with residents. Dally said there is a checklist to follow covering areas such as lighting, landscaping, external storage, vehicles and safe hiding places for valuables.
Coun. Bill Luchtmeijer said municipalities create bylaws and planning guidelines, but don’t take into consideration Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design.
Luchtmeijer said it would be beneficial for discussions to take place with staff to encourage thinking about public safety via environmental design.
Since starting the program, Dally said, the detachment has conducted 150 surveys in the community and the detachment has 15 presentations lined up for community groups.
“It’s nice to see Oceanside, for a relatively small community and a relatively small detachment, punching way above their weight in a program that is making a difference,” Dally said.
