Portage la Prairie's Community Safety Officer (CSO) program is entering a period of transition, but City Councillor Colin Doyle remains both proud and optimistic.
Doyle, who also serves as the Chair of Public Safety, shared some developments with the program that launched earlier this year, as well as the challenges that come with growth.
The city's three current CSOs, who have been key figures in the program's early success, are moving on to new opportunities. All three officers have accepted positions as police officers with regional forces.
"We are so proud of their achievements, and we wish them all the best," Doyle explains. "But we also want to recognize that their departure will temporarily impact the service levels within our CSO program."
However, the city is taking steps to ensure the community remains supported during this transition.
"We're working closely with the RCMP to fill those service gaps. We're not shutting down the program, the CSO office will stay open, and the phone line is still active. We want to encourage everyone to follow the guidelines that we had set out originally as to when to call, continuing to call the CSO line for those issues. One way or another, we'll make sure that those voids get filled."
In addition to recruitment efforts, Doyle provided some good news about the program's equipment. After some initial delays, the CSO vehicle is now being outfitted, and the wait times for other equipment, like body armour, have been resolved.
Despite the growing pains, Doyle remains confident in the CSO program's future. He views this moment as just another step in its development, and he's proud of what's been achieved so far.
"We're just looking at it as a bump in the road," Doyle notes. "A program like this, in its infancy, we're going to run into these things. We knew that this would be a stepping stone for some people to get into, whether it be RCMP or other various forms of law enforcement, but it just so happened that all three of them were offered jobs and would be moving on."
Looking forward, the Councillor shared that a new hire to the program will be entering training at the beginning of October. He went on to address the community directly.
"Thank you to our citizens for supporting the program. I know that, especially our downtown local business owners have had a very positive response to our program. They've seen an impact within their businesses with having these officers on the street. I just want to thank everyone for their support."
Doyle encourages anyone interested in joining the CSO program to visit the city’s website for more information on how to apply.