“When we are on patrol there is less crime in that area,” says Don Larry president with Lloydminster Citizens on Patrol as he discusses the crime watch effort by the volunteer group. He adds “the police have their stats.”
The group has been in operation since 1999 and Larry explains that the need for their work is great.
“The police are just overwhelmed with all the work in the city. So they need help. So at Citizens on Patrol; we step up and we go out patrolling and try to look for the bad things and stuff out of place and we report it.”
The need for new volunteers to be on patrol is critical as they are down to about 15 from some 35-members before the COVID-pandemic. Larry says with their insurance coverage, they go out in pairs.
“So one guy is driving and the other person is watching out for things and they just investigate and if they see anything suspicious, they report it. And hopefully we can help out the police in that department.”
The group is branching out into offering safe rides home for people who attend events and may have had too much to drink. That outreach is supported by donations. They are also fundraising with a community 50/50 raffle and applying for grant funding from the Alberta government.
More information can be found on their social media.