‘If you see something, say something’ says CBS Deputy Mayor
By Mark Squibb
The Town of Conception Bay South recently hosted a meeting of the Northeast Avalon Joint Council and in attendance were RNC and RCMP representatives Sgt. Ryan Slaney and Sgt. Lesley Devereaux, respectively.
“Both police forces are under resourced at this time,” said Deputy Mayor Andrea Gosse. “They are challenged, without a doubt, and they both spoke to that. But they said that people need to file complaints. They need to call in with complaints… It’s like going to the hospital – the call that is the most urgent is the one that they have to respond to first. But they look for trends and patterns and organize their patrols around those trends and patterns. So, he (Sgt. Slaney) said while you think they don’t do anything, that’s not the case. The information, the complaints, are valuable.”
Police, said Gosse, are encouraging people to anonymously report crime through Crime Stoppers.
“The message we need to drive home is, ‘If you see something, say something,” said the deputy mayor. “Call the RNC, call the RCMP, or use Crime Stoppers.”
Gosse said complaints about improper use of ATVs and dirtbikes were consistent among the 19 communities on the joint council.
“It was a common problem across the board, and the police spoke to that,” said Gosse. “They are active with regards to trying to follow up on complaints of ATV and dirtbike violations. It’s a very challenging thing. But he (Sgt. Slaney) said reporting incidents is important, because drivers tend to go in the same areas. So, when the calls come in, they see the pattern of behaviour and they can follow up on it.”
Gosse said the police maintain that publicity campaigns are also helpful in reducing improper ATV and dirtbike usage, and that parents need to be reminded that they are accountable for their children’s improper usage.
Ward 1 councillor Shelley Moores added that Slaney stressed the importance of calling in repeat offenses.
“One of the examples he gave is, residents may say, ‘There’s that ATV again today, I already called it in,’ but if you only call it in once, and they don’t hear about it anymore, they’re probably going to think that it’s fine,” said Moores. “But every time you see it, they would rather a call be made, so then they can really target where the issues are.”