Ashcroft Detachment NCO Sgt. Michel Grondin appeared before Cache Creek and Ashcroft councils on Jan. 23 to invite suggestions for the Detachment’s 2012/12 priorities.
Last year’s priorities concentrated on youth and family violence, although with fluctuating staffing levels in 2011 and then a change in commanders over the summer, there was no formal plan in place.
Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta spoke in favour of the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program in the schools.
Grondin said he would look into getting a D.A.R.E.-trained officer if the region identified it as a priority. The last officer to provide training was Cst. Marie Gagnon who is currently on maternity leave.
Both Ranta and Ashcroft Coun. Jerry Fiddick questioned the current number of Traffic Services officers: there were six members at the Detachment until recently.
Grondin said there were still six positions, but only four were filled. He speculated that the two other positions might be temporarily assigned to other mobile units.
Ashcroft Mayor Andy Anderson noted that organized crime, an RCMP priority on the national level, moves along highways making more traffic patrol needed.
