Delta’s community police offices are once again open to the public, 18 months after they were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The district community police offices (DCPOs) in North Delta and Tsawwassen reopened on Monday (Sept. 27), and the Ladner office reopened on Tuesday (Sept. 28), and many of the Delta Police Department’s volunteer-led programs are now starting back up. The Tsawwassen First Nation DCPO remains closed “until further notice.”
“We were thrilled to recently welcome our volunteers back to our offices, and (…) with the help of the volunteers, we are very pleased to open the doors of these community offices again,” Acting Insp. Brian Hill, who oversees the district community police offices, said in press release.
The release states that, throughout the pandemic, the DPD’s district liaison officers assigned to North Delta, Ladner and Tsawwassen have remained in contact with key stakeholders in the community and run core programs such as Block Watch and Garage 529, as well as addressed any community concerns that came up such as issues like graffiti or thefts from auto.
“The district liaison officers are a great first point of contact for the community for ongoing issues or safety concerns,” Hill said. “We also want to welcome Const. Geoff Young as our newest district community liaison officer. He joins Acting Sgt. Ken Kirk, Const. Lee Chapman and Const. Elaine Hughes, who are well known to the community.”
“I want to also recognize how important our volunteers are to these offices, and the value of the services they provide,” Hill said. “We are so pleased they waited out this pandemic, and were willing to come back to help us re-start our programs.”
Some of the other programs run out of the DCPOs include Citizens are Security Active (CASA) — a program where volunteers check on your home when you are on holiday — Lock Out Auto Crime and Speed Watch. More information on these and other community programs is available at deltapolice.ca/communityprograms.
The release notes the DPD is not accepting any applications for new volunteers at this time, but hopes to open applications up again later this year or in early 2022.
The North Delta District Community Police Office, which is led by Const. Lee Chapman, is located at 11906 80th Avenue (across the street from the Delta Rise). Pre-pandemic, approximately 200 volunteers worked out of the office.
We’re excited to welcome our community volunteers back to our DCPO’s! You’ll see them out delivering community safety programs across Delta. #givingback #volunteering @deltapolice pic.twitter.com/QNuY8TBMCN
— DeltaPoliceDCPO (@DeltaPoliceDCPO) September 24, 2021
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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