Mounties walking down First Avenue in Mission is becoming a regular sight once again, and we couldn’t be happier.
This much-needed and well-loved (by the good guys) activity is nothing but beneficial to the District of Mission, and will only make targeted areas safer for shoppers and residents.
Policing isn’t always about tearing down the road with lights and sirens blazing, and doing a high-risk take-down of a drug den. In fact, face-to-face engagement with the community’s shop owners and residents should be considered some of the most important activities our Mounties carry on in a given day.
Anyone who spends a regular amount of time in a certain place will get to know its quirks and characters. The sights, sounds, smells and people will become familiar, therefore, when something is off kilter, the regular visitor will pick up on that faster than the casual observer, and absolutely faster than the RCMP officer who drives past.
And it’s this speed and first-hand, boots-on-the-ground knowledge than many police officers are not able to gather when they’re running from one priority call to another each and every shift.
In The Record’s story about foot patrols, it is noted that the program will be re-examined later this year to determine whether it should continue.
With the list of positive elements that this endeavour has the potential to bring, we should all encourage local council and the Mission RCMP to find a way to ensure the funds exist to see this program continue for the long-term.