MOOSE JAW — The Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) has launched a new pilot project that will see officers visit downtown businesses to discuss safety, trespassing, shoplifting, property rights and other related issues.
Members of the strategic services unit (SSU) recently launched “The Coffee Break Huddle,” where they visit businesses during staff meetings and coffee breaks to discuss various issues and potential solutions, Sgt. Ryan Lawrence said during the June 18 Board of Police Commissioners meeting.
Strategic services officers also conduct a walkabout of the building or property using crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) principles, he continued. This includes how to secure the property and deter criminal behaviour.
“We also answer questions that the staff may have … so it actually turns into a pretty good discussion, in the two or three (huddles) we’ve done so far,” Lawrence remarked, noting businesses can request a meeting online.
One thing SSU members do is review what staff can expect when they call the MJPS’s communications centre — on either the regular line or emergency line — for support, said Lawrence. Details the centre will want include the problem, the clothes the person was wearing and the direction the person went after leaving.
Businesses are sometimes unsure whether they should call the police about something, but they should make contact so that an officer can determine whether help is required, he continued. Staff will also have to provide plenty of details, since police can’t just rely on video footage from a security system.
Lawrence noted that officers are continuing to encourage businesses to join the Trespass Prevention Program, while he and the MJPS’s communications manager are creating an online template that businesses can fill out and give to people whom they want to ban from the premises.
While the unit typically holds these huddles from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., there are opportunities to discuss these issues with community groups in the evening, the sergeant said. The SSU will write up a script to ensure consistency with the message, while someone from the patrol beat will attend the meeting and provide the information.
Meanwhile, SSU members can also split a Coffee Break Huddle meeting into two parts— each session takes 20 minutes — to ensure businesses’ operations aren’t halted and that all staff can attend and ask questions, Lawrence added. Also, the Moose Jaw Chamber of Commerce is sending out this initiative to its members and encouraging them to participate.
The next police board meeting is Wednesday, July 16.
