Hello again everyone. A lot has happened since I last spoke to you, most notably the announcement of a new chief of police. Congratulations to Deputy Chief Roger Chaffin, who was promoted to his new position effective October 19th. You may be asking, what does this mean for me? or how will it affect me? Well, I can assure you that my colleagues and I were asking ourselves the same question not so long ago. Our previous chief, Rick Hanson, was a strong believer in community policing and, a result of this, we saw the growth of the Diversity Resource Team to its position where it is today, arguably the largest diversity team in North America, and one that is certainly respected and admired for the work that it does.
There was no guarantee that his replacement would have shared his views about community policing, which could well have seen a completely different look to how we operate with the diverse communities of the city. So it was reassuring to hear Deputy Chief Chaffin state that he would continue building relationships within the community, and note that the police service in Calgary has evolved into "an instrument of social justice, as opposed to an instrument of paramilitary force" over the years. "I see no need to ever step back from that model," he said. Based on those comments, I have no doubt that any changes to the way that I and CPS interact with this community will only be positive ones, and that I will continue to provide you with dedicated service.
On a more sombre note, we only have a couple weeks of Daylight Savings Time left! For those of you who know me well, you know that I am so much more a summer person than a winter person, and I apologize to all who are winter sports participants. From a policing perspective, the shorter days and longer nights raise the potential for increased crime. Bad people like to conduct their business when they are harder to see! With that in mind, I wanted to give you some information about home security and burglaries.
Neighbourhood Safety:
Your neighbourhood is your first line of defence – burglars don’t like watchful neighbours who are collectively interested in the security of their neighbourhoods. Take a look at your yard and neighbourhood from the burglar’s point of view. These tips may help:
- Trim trees and bushes that could hide burglars.
- Pay attention to trees growing near your house. Could a burglar climb the tree to access your property?
- Keep your yard maintained to give the house a lived-in appearance; cut grass, rake leaves, remove dead branches and clear debris.
- Install outside lights to brighten dark areas around doors and windows.
- Make sure emergency personnel can easily see your address from the street, even at night.
Home Safety:
- Outside doors and frames should be made of solid wood or steel, which are harder to force than hollow-core doors.
- Glass in outside doors should be at least 40 inches from the lock, or be unbreakable.
- Secure all outside doors with deadbolt locks.
- Install a peephole viewer on the entrance door.
Of course, all the security measures that you implement are no guarantee of immunity to crime.
If your home is broken into:
- Do not enter the house in case the burglar is still there. Please call 911 and watch your house until the police arrive.
- Do not touch anything until the police have finished checking your house.
- Make a list that includes serial numbers for all of your valuable items. That way you can provide this to the police and ensures that any found items can easily be returned to you.
Calgary is, statistically, a very safe city. As long as you follow these simple tips, and make sure that the house is secure at night or whenever you leave your home, your chances of being a victim of burglary are slim.
Please look out for each other and take care of yourselves. Feel free to connect with me in the usual way with any questions, comments or concerns.