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L-R: RCMP Cst. Derek Turner,  RCMP Cpl. Michael Evans, Bower Place Operations Manager Ryan Matthews, and Bower Place General Manager Sonya Hunt. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)
building relationships

RCMP build relationships with Red Deer businesses during COVID transition

Jul 13, 2020 | 6:00 AM

Red Deer RCMP are receiving kudos for their work to build relationships with businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The economic environment was already difficult prior to the world as we knew it being halted in its tracks, and the pandemic only caused anxiety to creep higher.

This is why, as Cpl. Michael Evans explains, the detachment’s Community Policing Unit made a concerted effort to ramp up presence where empty businesses lingered, awaiting the day patrons would return.

“We wanted to know how they were doing and address any concerns they had,” says Evans. “If we couldn’t answer a question, we referred them to AHS or the provincial government, as well as Biz Connect Alberta, a website not a lot of businesses were familiar with.”

Evans says doing this work also allowed RCMP to hear concerns about crime and how to help prevent it.

“We’ve shared what we’ve seen at other businesses in terms of what’s working so that others don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” he says. “We want to be partners with businesses and share our ideas. That’s why we’ve checked in and gotten a temperature check on them.”

Sonya Hunt, GM at Bower Place Shopping Centre, says it was hard in the beginning to see what had become of the mall.

“I’ve been in malls for 20 years, so to see stores closing and be here every day when it was empty, there was some anxiety,” she says. “Right from the get-go, the RCMP told us they’d be here to support us.”

That’s included a daily police presence in the building, working with in-house security, and what Hunt describes as the forming of a collaborative partnership that will last beyond the pandemic. Officers have also been invited to attend future tenant meetings.

“We have many young people who work here, so there are misunderstandings around loss prevention and crime,” Hunt shares. “What better way to integrate our tenants with RCMP than by having them attend? They’ve been an integral part of us being able to reopen the shopping centre in a way that’s safe for the community and everybody involved.”

Brandon Bouchard, the manager at Tribe on Ross Street downtown, says the increased police presence during pandemic times has been more than welcome. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

Downtown, there was already anxiety surrounding Red Deer’s social issues, much of which stems from an unfair stigma attached to the area, says Brandon Bouchard, Manager at Tribe on Ross Street.

Recently, RCMP have done more than just poke their head in from time to time, he says.

“They’ve come in almost daily, had conversations about what we’re seeing downtown, and it seems like they genuinely want to build relationships with businesses down here. We love to see them around, and they don’t talk as much as they listen,” says Bouchard.

“I don’t see too many issues downtown. It’s a great space, and at the end of the day, since society has been set free, we’ve seen a lot more people coming downtown. In June, we had double the business at Tribe compared to pre-pandemic.”

Between RCMP, the City and the Downtown Business Association, Bouchard believes the public rightfully bears much of the responsibility for shifting feelings about the area.

“If you want to make a space safe and vibrant, you must occupy that space. Come downtown and get out of your vehicles. The more people we see, the less we’ll see some of the social issues, and I have seen more people every day out here exploring and shopping local.”

It’s a good feeling that businesses are appreciative, says Evans. He shares Hunt’s sentiment that the largest remaining challenge is getting businesses and the public to understand how vital it is to follow health guidelines such as physical distancing and wearing a mask.

“We can only work with what our community is able to feed us,” he says. “So now, if businesses see something that isn’t good, or if they have a question about crime prevention, they know how to get a hold of us.”