By Bryan Eneas

Property defence and pot discussed at Big River RCMP town hall

Mar 29, 2018 | 10:19 AM

RCMP in Big River met with roughly 100 community members and discussed a wide array of topics including property-defence, pot and the rural Protection and Response Team.

Officers from the community hosted the town hall meeting to inform the public of their upcoming plans, share statistics and answer questions about policing in the area.

Property and the protection of personal belongings dominated the question period. Following the trial of Gerald Stanley, who was acquitted of second-degree murder in the 2016 shooting death of Colten Boushie Feb. 9, people had many questions about their rights to defend personal property. Officers told attendees they must be able to justify the level of force they used in a court of law, and repeatedly stressed the need to call for assistance before resorting to using firearms.

Detachment Commander Sgt. Marcus Paddock said the town hall meeting served as an educational tool for residents in the region.

“I certainly think the more knowledge out there about the law and about what people can do, the better off they are,” Paddock said. “It’s nice for us to get our message out, especially what we’re looking for when we’re dealing with these types of complaints.”

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Residents suggested one method which would reduce crime in rural areas was an increased visible police presence, something the province is looking to address through the Protection and Response Team (PRT). The team was designed to increase police visibility and lower response times to rural crime by changing the roles of some police officers as well as highway and commercial vehicle enforcement officers and conservation officers. Highway officers and conservation officers were granted the powers to respond to police calls and make arrests.

Paddock said in his experience, more police visibility reduces crime. He said the PRT discussions are still a work in progress, but noted RCMP in Big River already had a good working relationship with at least one group involved in the PRT.

“I’ve had lots of conversations with our local conservation officers here,” Paddock said. “I’m looking forward to working together to help address some of the concerns that were brought up here tonight.”

Paddock said the average citizen can help bolster RCMP efforts by filing police reports whenever a crime occurs. When more people report crimes, he said it helps police direct resources to combat crime trends and keeps the officers informed of what may be happening in the community.

“As the detachment commander, you want to make sure you’re addressing the issues,” he said. “If we don’t know the issues, it makes it really hard to address them.”

The legalization of marijuana was also brought up during the question portion of the town hall.

Staff Sgt. Barry Thomas, with the North District Management Team from Prince Albert, said the RCMP feel things are happening too quickly on that front.

When citizens asked how police would address drug-impaired driving, Thomas said there is not yet an effective test to detect the level of THC in someone’s blood. He estimated 30 members in the province have earned the title of Drug Recognition Expert, meaning the officers can be called in to assess a suspected impaired driver. More officers are being trained, he said, but the two-week program is often run in the United States and can be costly to attend.

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas