The RCMP detachment in Portage la Prairie is expecting another busy year in 2017.   Inspector Rick Head says they have an excellent community policing section here in Portage, noting that will continue to grow over the coming year.  Head says the goal is to implement a community policing section which deals with high risk families or young people who are involved in crime.  He notes it's a community mobilization  program where various agencies come together once a month and bring up some of these files, adding for example it might be Child and Family Services or an addiction counseling service which can intervene in a particular situation instead of the police.

Head says they also hope to soon implement a program which will teach all city employees how to keep watch in the community when it comes to crime trends or things like reporting impaired drivers on our streets.  He notes they've seen some great growth with the COPP program, adding several young people have joined recently to complement some of the older folks who have been involved with COPP for many years.  Head says these are all wonderful community policing programs that have been developed and they look forward to developing even more in the future.

He notes drugs will again be a target area for the RCMP in 2017.  Head adds they'll continue with enforcement on the highways as well, especially in light of the increased number of fatalities in Manitoba during the past year.  He says the members of the Portage RCMP detachment are looking forward to serving this community throughout the coming year.