Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Issue 42
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY SINCE 1903
www.estevanmercury.ca
Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240
Estevan police to further ramp up fight against impaired driving in the community By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
Estevan Police Chief Paul Ladouceur wants to see so much attention paid to impaired driving in Estevan this year, that the local rates will have to continue to go down. That was his message during a stakeholders meeting on Friday afternoon at the Affinity Place lounge. Approximately 25 people gathered for a meeting to discuss how to further reduce impaired driving rates in Estevan. Local elected officials, members of the Estevan Police Service (EPS), Estevan RCMP and the Estevan Fire Rescue Service, representatives of the education sector, local bar and restaurant owners, and representatives of agencies such as Saskatchewan Government Insurance and Mothers Against Drunk Drivers were among those in attendance. Ladouceur viewed the meeting as a “fantastic” first step in the right direction.
“Welcome to 2018,” Ladouceur told the Mercury. “The goal here is this will be the year that this city really took that turn, and turned that corner when it comes to impaired driving. It’s a social change. It’s a culture change.” “It’s a serious offence,” he added later. “It’s a serious criminal offence. People are dying, and enough is enough.” Following an open portion in which the media was invited, the meeting moved behind closed doors. One woman shared how her sister was hit and killed by an impaired driver, and how it has affected her life and how she deals with it. “I think it’s important because it sets the frame of the seriousness of this issue,” said Ladouceur. Then the participants broke out into groups to discuss different options and ideas. “There were some very good ideas that came out of that, so the goal now is to consolidate those ideas and share them with the
media,” said Ladouceur. The people who run restaurants, liquor establishments and off-sale businesses brought forward some good ideas, he said. They want to reduce impaired driving in the community. “We can’t point the finger at licensed establishments and say that’s what’s causing the problem with impaired driving,” said Ladouceur. “First of all, it’s the individuals making the choice. Second of all, a lot of drinking occurs at people’s houses, at house parties, at other locations and things like that.” One idea that Ladouceur shared with the Mercury was the possibility of releasing the names of people charged with impaired driving to the media. Those who were present argued that names are released for other serious crimes, but not for impaired drivers, even though impaired driving is a source of concern for road safety in the community. “If someone is arrested and charged with
impaired driving, and then they’re released back into the community, does the public have the right to know this person has their licence suspended, and if he’s seen driving, he’s not to be driving, and the police should be notified?” said Ladouceur. At the same time, people are innocent until proven guilty, and that has to be a factor, he said. Ladouceur told the crowd that 57 people were killed in Saskatchewan in 2016 through impaired driving, which is now the leading cause of criminal death in the province. Saskatchewan’s impaired driving rates are also the highest in the country. But there is some positive news coming about impaired driving rates in the province, he said. “We are seeing those numbers start to drop, which is very good, but we have a long, long, long ways to go,” said Ladouceur. There has also been a decline each year in the number of impaired driving
Police Chief Paul Ladouceur speaks during an impaired driving meeting on Friday afternoon at Affinity Place. charges in the city since 2013. A total of 224 people were charged that number, but the number has fallen to
179 in 2014, and then 122 in 2015, 121 in 2016 and 113 last year. A2 » CHECK
RCMP town hall documents successes; public remains happy with the local detachment By William Acri wacri@estevanmercury.ca
Inspector Ted Munro speaks to attendees of the RCMP town hall meeting while he explains the various communities the RCMP serves.
The Estevan RCMP reached out to connect with the people it serves by hosting a town hall at Bienfait Weldon School on Feb. 13. Based on the reaction of people in attendance, the community is happy with the service the RCMP is providing the community. The RCMP members in attendance at the town hall meeting included Sgt. Jeff Clarke, Corporal Craig Park, Staff Sgt. Devin Pugh and RCMP Inspector Ted Munro. About 20 members of the public were in attendance. It was reported at the town hall that the Estevan RCMP detachment received 3,314 calls for service in 2017. That number does not include provincial traffic enforcement figures. Crimes against persons, such as assaults, were at 103. Crimes against property came in at 283, and 99 Criminal Code traffic offences were reported. The Estevan RCMP
said at the town hall meeting that only four per cent of their time in 2017 was utilized for drug enforcement. “We completed eight search warrants in 2017 and we seized over half a million dollars worth of drugs. We are out there and we are doing a lot of good for the community,” said Clarke. The Estevan RCMP detachment is currently down one full-time constable, as their detachment is normally made up of five constables. Clarke also spoke about the success they have had with taking firearms out of the hands of criminals. “We have taken 24 guns off the streets. These are not your regular farmer guns and I think everyone has a .22 sitting around at their house but we seized actual firearms, handguns and that sort of thing that criminals owned for not exactly uses like hunting,” said Clarke. “It is important to remember that in our experience as police officers,
more than often a large part of our crime statistics are caused by the same people, the same faces. They are reoffenders and even when a crime rate looks high, it’s mostly just one group of people that keep ending up back in court of jail,” he added. Clarke wanted to make it known that traffic safety and enforcement is a lot more than just handing out tickets. “Crime prevention rolls right into enhancing road safety. We are preventing crime by enforcing the rules of the road,” said Clarke. “More than often we have taken unsafe vehicles off the road or even unsafe drivers off the road and all of it, even though it is just traffic enforcement, does a lot of good for the community,” he added. The Estevan RCMP has access to a rollover simulator that they take out sometimes to show its abilities to the community. The simulator basically has two test dummies in it
and they have an imitation vehicle that will actually reach a real rollover speed. When it does, the dummies get contorted, damaged and thrown out of the vehicle to help people understand why it is important to wear your seatbelt. The 2017 RCMP performance plan included four priorities: police community relations, crime prevention/crime reduction, enhanced road safety, and health and wellness. “We have been successful in all these areas and for 2018 we hope to continue being successful in all these areas,” said Clarke. The health and wellness of RCMP members, Clarke noted is very important to community protection and service. “We also make sure that our members are healthy. That is vital to what we do. Being a police officer working rotating shifts, like a night shift, for example, is very difficult and we have officers that A2 » RCMP
FIRST 3 MONTHS PAYMENT ON US* UP TO $1,500 ON MOST NEW 2017/2018 F-150
PLUS UP TO
9,000
$
Senchuk
CASHBACK ON NEW 2017 F-150s
ELIGIBLE COSTCO MEMBERS
RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL
1,000
$
Ford Sales Ltd.
ON SELECT 2017 & 2018 MODELS
118 Souris Ave. N., Estevan 306-634-3696 www.senchukford.com