Blue Hills Detachment

Contact Information:

Location:
Blue Hills Area is an amalgamation of Brandon, Souris and Carberry Detachments and consists of nine rural municipalities with a radius of approximately 2,286 square miles. In this area there are approximately 18 communities, and work alongside two rural municipal police departments, along with the Brandon Police Service, Rivers Town Police the Shilo Military Police and the Dakota Ojibway Police Service.

Local population:
Approximately 17,000 people.

According to RCMP Traffic Services in Manitoba, approximately 14,870 vehicles drive every day on Manitoba Highway 1 (Transcanada Highway), Highway 10, and Highway 2 through the Blue Hills area.

RCMP Detachment:
Blue Hills Area consists of a Staff Sergeant in charge of the three units. This Area Commander is based out of the Brandon office, which is situated one mile east of Brandon on Highway 457, in the Rural Municipality of Cornwallis. Brandon Detachment consists of one Corporal, four rural constables and two public service employees (one full-time, one part-time). Brandon has two police cars and one 4x4 vehicle.

Carberry Detachment consists of one Corporal, three rural Constables and one Public Service Employee. Carberry has two police cars, one two-rider utility vehicle and one 4x4 truck. Souris Detachment consists of one Corporal, two municipal Constables, one rural Constable and one Public Service Employee. Souris has two police cars and one 4x4 truck.

Community-based problem solving:

Often, groups are already in place to deal with ongoing concerns or community projects. The following details what community challenges are being addressed by the members of the RCMP in partnership with their community. The major working groups include:

Westman Team Against Sexual Exploitation (WTASE): The Westman Team Against Sexual Exploitation is a committee made up of various agencies and community members within the Westman Region with a mandate to identify and prevent sexual exploitation. Committee representatives includes law enforcement agencies (Brandon Police Service, RCMP and Dakota Ojibway Police Service), Manitoba Justice, Social Services, non-profit agencies, Manitoba Education, aboriginal organizations and community volunteers. The committee efforts include organizing functions within the Westman area for community awareness and prevention, creating and distributing educational pamphlets within the agencies, facilitates an information telephone contact, and is continually developing new ways to combat sexual exploitation.

Multi Agency Intervention Program (MAIP): This volunteer program is designed to deal with problematic students and adolescents. Participants include representatives from the RCMP, schools, parents, Probation Services, and Child and Family Services. At quarterly meetings, participants are given the opportunity to identify a youth and the concerns that pertain to him or her. Then, plans are developed and implemented to effectively deal with the situation. Participants act quickly to gain control over the situation before more drastic behaviour develops.

Manitoba West Mental Health Committee: This committee consists of members of the RCMP, Brandon Police Service, Brandon Correctional Institute, Hospital Security at Brandon Health Centre, Centre for Adult Psychiatry (CAP) and Regional Health Authority (RHA) officials. This committee meets quarterly to discuss problems relating to mental health. Solutions to these problems are developed and implemented by the committee members.

Westman Short Term Support Unit (WSTSU): The Westman Short Term Support Unit is a new support unit in place for individuals who may be dealing with severe physical or mental challenges in everyday life. The WSTSU has provided short term care solution for those individuals who need a break from the community and can do so in a relaxed rural environment. The following services have come together to educate one another and to provide safe service to everyone involved with this program: Blue Hills RCMP, the Brandon Police Service, the Brandon Regional Health Authority, the Brandon Center for Adult Psychiatry, the Mobile Crisis Unit, the Brandon Support Services, a community service worker for the Westman region and a behavioral specialist for the Westman region.

Restorative and alternative justice:

Nationwide, members of the RCMP are involved in alternative justice processes, whether volunteering as facilitators or sitting on steering committees. Each community may embrace a different form of restorative justice, be it community justice forums, circle sentencing, or mediation.

Youth Justice Committee: Detachment members sit on this committee along with volunteers and members of Probation Services. They meet monthly to handle youth who are referred to them by the courts and probation services in order to deal with matters via alternative measures.

Community Justice Forums: Members participate in community justice forums on a regular basis. They arrange for offenders and victims to work together by discussing the crime and developing a solution to the problem. Members feel this method has a greater effect on the offender.

Crime prevention:

Members of the RCMP are involved with a number of programs designed to prevent crime in our communities through both indirect and direct intervention. From school talks to youth initiatives and community safety plans, the goal of crime prevention programs is to target the roots of potential criminal and social problems. Members of the RCMP are involved in the following initiatives:

Student Patrols (similar to COP): This program was developed to prevent vandalism in town during Halloween and other special events. It was set up by school officials, town councils, and police. Students do the patrolling and report any irregularities to police.

Drivers Education: Members lecture at Drivers Education classes to encourage teens to practice proactive/defensive driving and discourage reckless behaviour and driving offences.

Auxiliary Constable Program: The Blue Hills Area currently has five Auxiliary Constables, three in Brandon, one in Carberry and one in Souris. An Auxiliary Constable riding with a Regular Member amplifies visibility and enhances relationships with all community members. This Constable provides great assistance to the members with his or her knowledge of the community and the people. They also enhance service delivery through participating in community events and assisting the school liaison officers with other crime prevention efforts.

Other Crime Prevention Programs include:

• School Liaison
• Safe Grad
• Bicycle Rodeo
• Citizens on Patrol (COPP)
• Seniors Programs
• Rural Crime Watch
• Media

Police-community relations:

Without a solid base upon which to work, the police cannot hope to build the necessary partnerships with the community to prevent crime and to solve community problems. Members of the RCMP strive to build those bridges by appreciating the needs of the communities in which they work and live. Their commitment to the community goes beyond simple participation as residents, but also as active members of the community. Members of the RCMP are involved in the following initiatives:

• School visitations
• Red Serge duty and parades
• Office tours

Quality service through strategic partnerships:

The community also benefits directly and indirectly from strategic partnerships that the RCMP forms with other law enforcement and governmental agencies as well as with as with other community groups. Several unique associations have been formed:

• Partners in Law Enforcement Committee
• Child Abuse Committee
• Meetings with Mayor and Councils
• Manitoba West Mental Health Committee
• Victim Services Program
• Westman Child & Family Services (CFS)
• Media