Regina Police Service (RPS) announced the launch of two new community watch initiatives on Friday it says will give the public more opportunity to contribute to community safety.
Officially called Community ON: Neighbourhood Watch Reimagined, the program offers a comprehensive suite of community crime prevention programs and builds on existing programs, according to Regina police.
The two new programs announced Friday will be known as the Neighbourhood Watch Link and the Safe Neighbourhood Camera Registry.
Neighbourhood Watch Link will initially run only in Ward 4 of the city, and operate as a pilot program, according to RPS.
“We know there may be some stuff we need to tweak accordingly to make it more efficient, more effective. That’s why we’re selecting one community first,” said RPS Chief Farooq Sheikh.
“We are going to do it for a number of months. Hopefully it’s a success and hopefully an easy transition to other wards,” he added.
Each month police will share timely crime trends, statistics and crime prevention tips with community associations so they can be shared online, Regina police said of the program.
Meanwhile, the Safe Neighbourhood Camera Registry is a voluntary and free program that gives residents a chance to assist police by informing them if they have security cameras. Then when officers are looking for video while conducting an investigation, they can contact those on a registry to save time instead of door knocking to look for video, RPS said.
The program is now being used across Canada. The City of Prince Albert has been using the program for a number of months with positive results.
“It’s really improved their officer efficiency. They can really narrow down who they need to reach out to and collect that information,” said Trent Stevely, the deputy chief of RPS.
Those interested in taking part in the program can register here.
Chief of Police Farooq Sheikh, Mayor Chad Bachynski, members of the Arcola East Community Association and other community partners all attended a launch event at Regina police headquarters Friday morning.
Neighbourhood watch initially began in Regina in the 1970s and started with signage, block captains and nighttime citizen patrols.
