Fighting drug-related crime and improving road safety will remain top priorities for Steinbach RCMP, following council’s unanimous approval of this year’s policing plan.
Steinbach City Council looked over the RCMP’s policing priorities for the year, confirming the continued focus on four key areas: drug enforcement, property crime reduction, traffic enforcement and police visibility.
Mayor Earl Funk presented the priorities at a recent council meeting, noting they align with ongoing discussions between the city and the RCMP.
“These are things that we talked about at the RCMP Advisory Committee, so the RCMP are on board with us,” Funk said. “They’re listed one to four, but these are all equal priorities. They work as a group.”
Focus remains consistent
Deputy Mayor Michael Zwaagstra, who chairs the city’s RCMP Advisory Committee, made the motion to adopt the priorities, explaining that Steinbach has kept the same focus areas in recent years because they continue to reflect the community’s needs.
“Every year, together with our RCMP, we set our key priority areas — things that we want the RCMP to focus enforcement on,” said Zwaagstra. “These are things that we consider important.”
He emphasized the connection between drug crime and other criminal activity.
“When you have drug problems, it leads to a whole lot of other crimes,” Zwaagstra said. “If we’re able to crack down on that, then that means less crimes in other areas as well.”
Traffic and visibility remain top of mind
Traffic enforcement remains a high priority, Zwaagstra added, citing the city’s move to hire an additional RCMP officer to focus on local traffic issues. He also highlighted recent plans for increased collaboration with the Ste. Anne Police to step up enforcement in Steinbach.
On police presence in the community, Zwaagstra said visibility continues to be a simple but effective tool in crime prevention.
“When police are visible and they’re seen, that has a good deterrence impact on crime,” he said.
Council passed the motion unanimously, with no further discussion. The RCMP will now move forward with the approved priorities as part of its annual policing plan for the City of Steinbach.