The Greater Sudbury Police Service has asked for more "eyes and ears" as its Citizens on Patrol (COP) Program has been deemed an overwhelming success.
Staff Sgt. Todd Zimmerman told the Greater Sudbury Police Services Board Monday (Oct. 16) the community-based crime prevention initiative, where volunteer members of the public who have received police training, spend time looking and reporting on suspicious behaviour in their respective neighbourhoods, should expand.
The program works closely with Citizen Police Advisory Committees (CPAC), which have been established throughout the City of Greater Sudbury.
A pilot project was launched in Nickel Centre and Capreol last fall, where volunteers served as the "eyes and ears" to the police and the response has been so positive, numerous other communities want to jump on board and start their own COP program, said Zimmerman.
After hearing all the detail's of the program's success, the board endorsed in principle the continuation and expansion of the program to other parts of Greater Sudbury. It also agreed to develop a 2007 budget option that would provide sufficient funds to operate the COP program permanently.
The board also asked the new council coming to office in November to establish a 2007 budget that provides for one-time base budget funding to establish COP programs across Greater Sudbury.
More than two dozen volunteers have accumulated more than 1,300 hours of service during the one-year pilot project.
More than a dozen COP volunteers showed up at the police services board meeting to listen to Zimmerman's presentation to the board.
More than $70,000 in in-kind services and cash donations were generously given to the program by businesses and individuals during the one-year pilot project, said Zimmerman.
"The whole community is embracing the program and it's very nice to see," he said.
To run a program of this magnitude is going to take a commitment by council to provide adequate funding, but Zimmerman is hopeful the new council will see the improvements in community safety and realize this is money well-spent.
Zimmerman said he will gladly make a presentation to the new council after the Nov. 13 municipal election to provide details on the success of the COP program.
The program has provided a greater sense of safety and security in Nickel Centre and Capreol and will do the same in other neighbourhoods as there has been a marked decrease in complaints about police visibility, he said.
Volunteers will continue to receive 10 to 15 hours of training before heading out on the streets to observe and report suspicious behaviour, he said.
If the program expands across Greater Sudbury, Zimmerman told the police services board he would recommend one full-time civilian employee be hired to administer and operate it, likely at a cost of around $40,000 per year.
With so many community partners interested, he believes the additional $60,000 that would be needed annually would be raised through community events and in-kind donations from business owners and individuals.
