THE BATTLEFORDS — Battlefords Citizens on Patrol Program (COPP) have unveiled a dedicated patrol vehicle. The vehicle is a 2023 Jeep Wrangler hybrid leased through FFUN Dodge in North Battleford.
Financing is provided through grant from Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC). Operational funding for the patrol vehicle and COPP activities is provided through donations from SGI, Ultra Print, Elks Canada, Beaver Grill Restaurant, FFUN Dodge, Discovery Co-op, SGEU, the City of North Battleford and Town of Battleford.
“We are so very grateful to BATC for their financial support of our very first dedicated patrol vehicle,” said COPP Chairperson Doug Fehr.
“This vehicle will help us succeed in the Battlefords COPP vision of ‘supporting crime-free communities where everyone feels safe and secure.”
Vice-chair Paul Robertson said, “We anticipate this vehicle will make citizens less anxious when a vehicle is patrolling about their neighbourhoods; the vehicle is clearly marked with the COPP logo.
“Patrollers will now have the choice to use their own vehicle or the COPP patrol vehicle, but we anticipate most will choose to use the patrol vehicle.”
Fehr suggested that COPP expects the patrol vehicle will also aid in recruitment, deter crime and lower COPP costs, being a hybrid.
“We have at least three new patrollers ready to complete their training patrol this coming Friday night,” he says.
The COPP group indicated there’s still room on the patrol vehicle for several more sponsors and to get it touch with COPP to help contribute to reporting and deterring crime within the Battlefords.
The COPP patrol vehicle was first put to use on Halloween night, looking for activities of a suspicious nature and reporting, if encountered, to the RCMP.
For more information about COPP please reach out via email to [email protected]
