North Battleford announces increased patrols for downtown

Sarah Onyango · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 15, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The City of North Battleford is launching a multi-agency attack to code concerns astir safety. 

The program volition see a patrol squad of societal agencies, assemblage information officers and RCMP members who volition beryllium dedicated to the city's downtown. 

Mayor Kelli Hawtin said the accrued patrols volition beryllium focused connected ensuring that everyone utilizing the downtown country tin relation good together. 

"This isn't a task of conscionable policing, which is 1 of the lone tools a municipality has, but this is simply a task of connecting radical to services that they whitethorn beryllium needing successful times of crisis oregon different times successful their life," Hawtin said. 

The patrol squad volition beryllium focused connected connecting radical who whitethorn beryllium struggling with addiction and wellness issues successful the area to the due services. 

Hawtin said radical successful the downtown country are accessing services for a assortment of antithetic reasons that whitethorn origin information issues. 

"We person radical buying and seeking amusement successful downtown areas; we person radical accessing, you know, things similar accountants, lawyers, banks — but we besides person radical that are accessing important societal services," Hawtin said. 

The metropolis is moving to link with wellness professionals and taste assemblage leaders to travel constabulary officers connected ft patrols. 

Ryan How, detachment commandant for the Battlefords RCMP, said complex solutions are needed, alternatively than conscionable accrued policing. 

"I deliberation everybody's precise alert that arresting and charging is not going to beryllium the solution to this," said How. 

He said helium hopes to summation information for everyone successful the area. 

"The extremity present is to marque the downtown a healthier spot to be, a safer spot to beryllium for the assemblage and marque definite that the radical who request assistance are getting entree to it," helium said. 

The caller patrol squad volition besides beryllium utilizing the transgression prevention done biology plan (CPTED) exemplary to heighten information for section concern owners. The exemplary is based connected the mentation that "the due plan and effectual usage of the built situation tin pb to a simplification successful the incidence and fearfulness of crime, and an betterment successful the prime of life," according to non-profit enactment CPTED Canada.

The metropolis expects the programme to grow arsenic much spouse agencies travel connected board.