RCMP LISTS PROGRAM PLANS

Bow Island may have a Neighbourhood on Patrol program as early as next
spring.

Sgt. Rick Cashman appeared before Town Council on Monday to give a report on
the Bow Island/Foremost RCMP detachment's activities and future plans. It
was also a chance for councillors to bring forward concerns they have about
local law enforcement issues. Comments ran the gambit from concerns over
minor acts of vandalism, to the presence of certain types of drugs in the
community.

Cashman said the D.A.R.E. program, which targets Grades 5 and 6 students
will remain a part of the mandate of local RCMP.

"We will be training another member in the D.A.R.E program," he added.

"What about older students?" asked Coun. Della Marie Woodruff.

Woodruff said she liked the way the program worked for students currently
targeted, but worried there was no follow-up for older students.

Coun. Cindy Orr mentioned the Party Program, which is designed for students
in Grades 9 and 10, and is still administered in Bow Island, but not by the
RCMP.

The program takes youth to hospitals so they can witness first hand the
effects of behaving irresponsibly with alcohol.

Cashman agreed the program is a good one, but pointed out that the local
detachment has a limited budget, so resources aren't available for every
program they'd like to introduce.

In his written report, Cashman noted that about half of the population of
the County the detachment administers is made up of youth.

That's one reason that ensuring their safety and welfare is a concern to
local officers. In order to help youth who've gotten caught committing a
minor crime, the detachment has aided in setting up a Youth Justice
Committee. The committee will hand out punishments to kids who've been
caught taking part in minor crimes. Examples of punishment would be planting
trees in the parks, or painting traffic signs on pavement.

Of course, not every person who abuses the law is caught. Cashman attributed
some of the problems with vandalism this summer to youth being at loose
ends.

"If youth have to be at home to go to school in the morning, they aren't
going to be out on the street at two or three in the morning. And, again, I
don't have the resources to have someone out there patrolling all the time."

He said that peer pressure often makes youth reluctant to 'tell' on others
at the root of some of those problems. To combat that he's looking into
starting a Youth Crime Stoppers program, where young people would enjoy the
same anonymity as adults who call in crimes.

Another item of interest to councillors was how the new speed limit signs,
set at 50 instead of 60 km/hour, were working.

"Well, now that it's 50, people have slowed down to 60 - instead of 70 or
80," Cashman replied with some humour.

On a more serious note, Cashman was asked about the presence of
Methamphetamine in the community, after a message updating it as a problem
in Alberta was sent out to some of the councillors.

"It's not a problem in southern Alberta yet," Cashman said, "but I have no
doubt there's product to make Meth crossing south of the border, and Meth
coming north."

He described Meth as "poor man's crack" and said it is highly addictive and
easy to make. It's also extremely volatile and dangerous. If a Meth lab is
found, a special team geared in suits made to resist the harmful chemicals
emitted by the lab must be called in.

Though Meth might not yet be a problem in the area, Cashman noted that other
drugs are available here, even ones many would consider 'big city' problems.

"There's pot here, there's crack here - whatever's available in the world is
available in Bow Island. There's a major highway out there," said Cashman.