Rimbey and District Citizens on Patrol is almost ready to spring into action.
The group’s mission is to see a reduction in crime in the area.
“Rimbey [and District] Citizens on Patrol is important because we do have a crime problem within Rimbey and surrounding area and it just provides more ears, eyes and voices for the RCMP to collect investigation information and move forward with their job,” said Marian Dudenhoeffer, president of Rimbey and District Citizens on Patrol.
The group is hoping to be able to patrol west of secondary Highway 771, the entire area the local RCMP detachment covers, depending on membership.
“It’s a real large area, so it’s going to take a lot of people,” added Dudenhoeffer, adding the pairs of volunteers would be scheduled and sent out with a kit, containing tools such as notebooks and flashlights, as they drive around patrolling.
“How much patrol would happen would be dependent on how much time people want to donate because it is on a volunteer basis, nobody is paid,” Dudenhoeffer said. “They’re just donating that to the community, their time and their fuel, to do this.”
In order to be out patrolling members have to go through a training program and pass a background check.
The group already trained 27 members at it’s first training session.
“We’re just out there trying to make a difference for the safety of our community,” said Dudenhoeffer.
She explained the group would be active at events in town to provide extra support to the RCMP whenever they can.
“We work alongside of our local law enforcement, where they may share information with us due to our commitment to confidentiality and checks along the way to membership, that aid in the direction we take,” Dudenhoeffer explained.
The Rimbey and District Citizens on Patrol gained society status in September 2018 and are finally arriving at the point where they are ready to start patrolling.
Dudenhoeffer said she is hoping to start the patrols sometime in April.