Coaldale, Alta., and local Mounties establishing Citizens on Patrol group

In 2021, Coaldale, Alta., scored a 44.5 on the Crime Severity Index.

COALDALE, Alta. -

The crime rate in Coaldale, Alta., is well below the national average.

In 2021, it scored a 44.5 on the Crime Severity Index.

Meanwhile, the national average is 100, and neighbour Lethbridge has a score of 148.9.

But that hasn’t stopped Mayor Jack Van Rijn from working to make Coaldale even safer.

The town will partner with its local RCMP detachment to launch a Citizens on Patrol group.

“With any community, even though statistically our crime rate is very low, there's always concern with petty crime going on in our community,” Van Rijn said.

“So this is an opportunity for us to have a second set of eyes and ears.”

Residents can sign up and volunteer to patrol the town.

If any of the volunteers on patrol see something suspicious, they are to alert the police.

“It'll be volunteers from the community, so within Coaldale, the people that live here. They'll come out and basically patrol the streets on their own as a volunteer group and basically act as our second set of eyes and ears,” said Sgt. David Marentette, operations supervisor for the Coaldale RCMP.

Van Rijn has already heard from several members of the community interested in volunteering.

“I believe we have six or seven volunteers right now. But we're hoping to get into the neighbourhood of 20 to 30 to start this program off,” he said.

Those involved with the program are eager to get the group off the ground.

“It is a very safe community, but we want to keep it that way. And where there's some potential for some spillover as the city grows, we want to make sure that we're making Coaldale a safe place and if the community can work with us to make sure we don't have any of that spillover.” Marentette said.

Anyone interested in joining the group can call the town office.

Volunteers must be over 18 and pass a criminal/background check conducted by the RCMP.