- Cleaning up Graffiti
Nanaimo is a small city with big Heart
Nanaimo’s population is just under 90,000 and with that comes it’s fair share of challenges such as fighting crime… unannounced to many people living in this city are a small group of concerned citizens better known as COPS…
Citizens on Patrol started in Nanaimo back in 1985 by community minded volunteers who set out on Friday and Saturday evenings to help local authorities as an extra set of eyes in your neighborhood.
COPS is an organization that you can find in many municipalities across Canada and it is self run through tireless volunteers who not only attend to office duties, they hit the streets late into the night and fund raise for their necessary equipment.
The duties of these dedicated volunteers is to be the eyes and ears for the community, assisting the local RCMP by reporting suspicious and illegal activity… They might not carry guns, but they carry a two-way radio which is dispatched back to their own headquarters. Through communication with RCMP a police response is determined.
The volunteers drive their own vehicles, dedicate their free time and knowledge with minimal pats on the back…they head out anywhere from 4-8 hours a month serving you, under the radar. The COPS patrol areas such as beaches, churches, schools and are looking for vandalism and loitering… Not the way you and I spend a Friday night…
I had the pleasure of attending a COPS conference and dinner for the Vancouver Island COPS here in downtown Nanaimo… in attendance was well over 100 volunteers… they were people just like you and I out to make a difference.
Over the years COPS have been responsible for solving dozens of crimes here in Nanaimo and more importantly the COP presence in our community has served to prevent much more crime that may have occurred. This gathering was an opportunity for the volunteers to attend workshops for providing more insight into policing within BC. The workshops covered various areas in gun crime, social media, tele-marketing and child exploitation to name a few.
The COPS form an integral link between policing and the community, they also are embassadors for their neighborhoods because they have a grounded understanding of what the crime issues are in Nanaimo.
I met with Brian Cornborough who has spent the last 10 years as a volunteer for COPS.. he said most volunteers need to only dedicate four hours a month to join their team..Brian is the COPS coordinator and puts in over 25 hours every month…now that is dedication.
COPS is always looking for good women and men to volunteer in their community and there is no age restriction… Many of the volunteers get out to meet other community members and truly enjoy the relationship aspect of volunteering, while others are considering a career with the RCMP or are using their volunteer work towards credits in their ongoing education. If you think volunteering for COPS is something you’d love to do, you might want to watch this video below and then get in touch with your local COPS coordinator, you’ll be very happy you did.
Contact e-mail: President@nanaimocops.com
Nanaimo COPS – Video provided by COPS please click the link.
Cheers!
