Placentia / Whitbourne District

District Commander
P.O. Box 160
Placentia, NL
AOB 2YO
Telephone: (709) 227-2000
Fax: (709) 227-7468

P.O. Box 130
Whitbourne, NL
AOB 3KO
Telephone: (709)759-2600
Fax: (709)759-2045

District calls for service:

Placentia-Whitbourne District members respond to approximately 2500 calls for service annually. The nature of the investigations handled by district members is wide ranging. Examples include crimes against persons, incidents such as assaults, the investigation of motor vehicle accidents as well as a wide variety of property offences such as break and enters, thefts and property damage. Investigations and the enforcement of the provincial liquor laws and drug enforcement under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act are also handled regularly by the members of Placentia-Whitbourne District.

Community policing initiatives:

Placentia -Whitbourne District practices the community based policing model and uses the problem-oriented policing approach to combat community concerns. The district is actively engaged in a strategic policing approach to improve service delivery to the people who reside in the 40 communities within the district.

District members are very active in school programs and interact regularly with town council officials in the communities. Each district member is assigned as a liaison to both a school and a town council for associated duties and responsibilities. In this way the local residents of a particular school or town council have a direct link with the RCMP and as a result the membership is more involved in the life of each community. Numerous community policing / crime prevention initiatives have also been created in Placentia-Whitbourne District, including D.A.R.E., Halloween Patrol, Operation Child Find, and a community safety bulletin program which involve police bulletins posted on the community television channels regarding general safety tips.

Community policing initiatives for the Placentia - Whitbourne District

DARE program:

The Drug Abuse Resistance Program is being taught at the majority of grade five and six students in the district. Including - St. Anne's Academy - Dunville, Fatima Academy - St. Brides, Holy Family Elementary - Chapel Arm, Whitbourne Elementary - Whitbourne and St. Edward's Elementary - Placentia.

Child Identification Program

All kindergarten students in the Placentia area have been fingerprinted for child identification.

Seniors and Youth: Working together to reduce crime

This initiative was started in October of 2004 by the Placentia RCMP, the P4 Youth Center, and Placentia Area Crime Prevention Committee and other partners. The program was developed and a submission was sent into the National Crime Prevention Center - Community Mobilization Program. Funding of $6200.00 was received in July of 2005 for the initiative. Planning of events involving both youths and seniors was started with the first event being an afternoon tea held in September 2005. This initiative was aimed at bridging the gap between seniors and youth in the community. Many events have taken place with above average attendance. All partners have been pleased at the success of the initiative so far.

Victim Services

Placentia-Whitbourne members meet with victim services regularly in order to provide the best service possible to victims of crimes, witnesses or any other members of the community that may be affected by an incident.

Crime Prevention Committees

The Placentia area has a Crime Prevention committee which includes an RCMP liaison member. The committee works with communities and youth to stop crime in the area and develop initiatives to protect people from crime.

School Liaison Officers

Each member of the Placentia - Whitbourne District is a liaison officer with a school in the area. Members attend their school and do various presentations. In the past, topics such as bullying, bike safety, RCMP as a career choice, and ATV regulations have all been presented to various grades in the schools in the area.

Town Council Liaisons

Each member of the Placentia - Whitbourne District is a liaison officer with a town council in the area. Members attend town council meetings to discuss any police related issues that may have arisen within the community.

Seniors Abuse Liaisons

A member from each detachment area is a liaison for the seniors in that area. This member works with seniors' groups and provides assistance with any inquiries. They also give seminars on elder abuse and how seniors can protect themselves from being victims of fraud.

Weekly Media Report

Placentia-Whitbourne District provides a weekly media report to the local paper - The Charter. This report includes recent crimes that have been committed and court results.

District description:

Placentia-Whitbourne District was formed in 1997 and involved the amalgamation of the jurisdictions of the former Placentia and Whitbourne Detachments. Today the district still includes an RCMP office in the communities of Placentia and Whitbourne. The district has 17 employees. They include the district commander (staff-sergeant), who is based out of the Placentia office, an operations NCO (sergeant), two teams - leaders/ supervisors (corporals), 11 investigators (constables), and two district-assistants (public service employees).
Placentia - Whitbourne District jurisdiction includes most of the southwester region of the Avalon Peninsula on the island portion of Newfoundland & Labrador. This jurisdiction includes the western coastline and waters of St. Mary's Bay, the eastern coastline and waters of Placentia Bay, an area that is well known in this province as "The Cape Shore." The northern portion of district jurisdiction includes the head of Trinity Bay and the southeastern coastline and waters of Trinity Bay. District jurisdiction extends westward to cover most of the Isthmus of Avalon and borders Clarenville-Bonavista District, and shares jurisdictional boundaries with Avalon East and Trinity-Conception Districts to the east. In total, 40 small communities are located within the Placentia-Whitbourne District jurisdiction, with a combined resident population of approximately 15,000 people.

General Area History:

Placentia: http://www.placentia.ca/
Whitbourne: http://ca.epodunk.com/profiles/newfoundland-and-labrador/whitbourne/2002997.html