The Community Safety Office in Portage la Prairie is finding a creative way to encourage positive behaviour among local youth this summer by handing out ice cream.
Office Manager Caitlyn Saindon explains that the initiative comes through a partnership with the Portage Community Revitalization Corporation (PCRC). Officers will be giving away vouchers for ice cream sandwiches from What’s the Scoop? to young people spotted doing the right thing.
“It’s something that we want to be able to connect between our office and the youth of the community,” notes Saindon. “The officers intend on being out and about giving these ice cream sandwich vouchers to kids wearing bicycle helmets or out in some of the play areas like the skate parks. Anywhere youth might be caught doing something good, cleaning up areas, rewarding of good behaviour, but also just a fun thing too.”
Building positive connections
The Community Safety Office is focused on ensuring the program is more than a simple giveaway. Officers want to reduce fear and build stronger relationships with young people in Portage.
“Diminish a bit of the fear level when a uniformed officer comes up to somebody randomly,” says Saindon. “We can make it a positive thing by having that conversation and saying here you go, this is for doing a good thing or this is just for being out and about on a lovely day.”
She remarks that while helmet use among children and teens is not universal, officers are seeing many young people making safe choices.
“It really kind of depends on what age group you’re looking at. For the most part, these officers are out and about and they’re seeing kids doing the right thing wearing their helmets. You see a lot of people using the bike signals as well when they’re turning."
Safety and education go hand in hand
The Community Safety Office has been pairing fun programs like the ice cream initiative with ongoing education efforts. Earlier this summer, officers visited schools to give bike safety presentations.
“They’re keeping an eye on stuff like that all the time,” adds Saindon. “How to signal, what to wear, how to be safe and that kind of stuff. It kind of just all ties into getting that educational information out there.”
Extended hours bringing results
Beyond new programs, the Community Safety Office is also seeing the impact of its recently extended operating hours.
Saindon mentions that the number of calls being received is climbing, though she points out that does not necessarily signal a rise in problems.
“The call volume has increased. It’s not necessarily to say that worse things are happening in our community, but I think just with the officers being out and about and in a lot of places, they’re able to deter issues before they happen, which has been really helpful,” continues Saindon.
She adds that the change in hours has played a role in that increase.
“The extended hours have likely been a part of that as well. Being open from 7:00 AM now until 10:30 PM has likely helped those numbers a little bit just because we’re able to be out towards the evening when the businesses are closing."
As summer continues, the Community Safety Office is aiming to keep its presence known while making interactions with youth more approachable and enjoyable.
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