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La Ronge gears up to fight youth crime

May 4, 2016 | 5:05 PM

Initiatives are now moving forward in the city after a spate of late night break-ins prompted a group of residents to bring their concerns to council.

“People were concerned and anytime that they have their vehicle windows smashed, or anything that results from vandalism, that takes a toll on the community and it’s fair to say that it affects every one of us,” Mayor Thomas Sierzycki said.

The crimes were suspected to be the result of youths loitering around late at night.

In response, council decided to re-impose a 2005 curfew bylaw, which states youth under the age of 18 are to be off the streets in La Ronge between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The town also opted to start an anti-crime task force.

Now, after a series of public consultations in March and April, the town and surrounding area are ready to implement the program.

“We are moving forward with several initiatives that the anti-crime task force has established as best practices,” Sierzycki said.

The town is establishing a community watch similar to citizens on patrol, where residents can volunteer to participate in neighbourhood checks in high-risk areas.

The town has also met with security companies to discuss increasing security in these areas.

Sierzycki said the town will continue to meet with the public and find out how they feel about the program as it rolls out.

“(We want to) continue to engage business and communities and individuals to see what best practices come forth, ensuring that there’s good programming for young people,” he said.

He said the people of La Ronge have been working hard to fight crime and their efforts will pay off.

“At the same time there are people doing great work and through this great work a reduction of crime comes forward,” he said.

 

jkadzviti@panow.com

Twitter: @julietkadzviti