Red Deer RCMP’s Downtown Patrol Unit officially welcomed its two newest policing partners on Friday; two Community Peace Officers (CPO) with enhanced duties. (rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

By Sheldon Spackman and Alessia Proietti

Red Deer RCMP and City of Red Deer

Two new members introduced to Downtown Policing Unit in Red Deer

May 13, 2022 | 1:42 PM

The Red Deer RCMP’s Downtown Patrol Unit officially welcomed its two newest policing partners on Friday; two Community Peace Officers (CPO) with enhanced duties.

“The addition of these two new CPO resources will enhance our policing presence, improve safety, and have a positive impact on the downtown overall,” said Supt. Holly Glassford.

The announcement of the Integrated Downtown Policing Unit took place outside their office within the Downtown Business Association building.

The pilot project is a joint initiative between the Red Deer RCMP, City of Red Deer Municipal Policing Services, and the Government of Alberta.

The Province enhanced CPOs’ authorities to allow them to investigate certain criminal code files including Theft under $5000 and Mischief under $5000. The two CPOs will also have access to policing tools and databases not typically available to Peace Officers.

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“In some respects, they will have comparable duties to their RCMP counterparts. They will investigate incidents, collect evidence, and provide proactive and responsive enforcement of City bylaws, provincial statutes and some criminal codes,” said Peter Puszka, Municipal Policing Superintendent.

Since 2018, Red Deer’s downtown has had a Downtown Patrol Unit (DPU), focused on improving safety through increased police visibility, proactive enforcement, decreasing property crime and criminal activity, and developing relationships with the residents, businesses and social agencies downtown.

In 2021, officials say the DPU conducted 2,219 investigations of which 64 per cent were self-generated files identified during proactive patrols, and the other 36 per cent were in response to calls from the community. This led to 784 arrests, 493 Criminal Code charges, 470 weapon seizures, 37 ounces of illegal drugs seized and 1,061 tickets issued.

Mayor Ken Johnston says the project leverages what the City already has in place while expanding the reach of enforcement.

“The more we can further that, the more people get to understand where boundaries are, what’s permitted and what isn’t permitted, what decent behavior is and what isn’t and so on. It just enables us to, I would say, restore, or certainly increasingly restore, public confidence in the downtown,” he said.

Local Mounties said in their latest community consultations and survey, that participants indicated there were still issues about the perception of safety in the downtown, and that safety was a barrier to visiting the city’s core.

Acknowledging those perceptions, Supt. Holly Glassford believes some may be furthered by misinformation and encourages Red Deerians to visit the downtown area themselves.

“Often they rely on maybe messages on social media that might not necessarily be accurate. So I would encourage them to come to the downtown. Our office is open here at the Downtown Business Association and you’ll often see members of the team here. Interact with our team. We want to enhance our relationships as well as increase those perceptions of the downtown by being present,” she said.

“Council and I are committed to working towards the enhancement and revitalization of our downtown,” said Mayor Johnston. “This innovative, one-of-a-kind initiative will increase feelings of safety and security amongst those working, living and enjoying our downtown.”