Members of Steinbach’s COPP were honoured both at the annual Manitoba COPP Conference last weekend in Winnipeg and by the City of Steinbach at City Hall yesterday.
The conference provided an overview of what the COP Program accomplished in the past year and included sessions on COPP recruitment, counterfeit money (Brandon Police Service), youth crime (City of Winnipeg Police Service), and the SpeedWatch Program (MPI), as well as a formal dinner and awards ceremony. Minister of Justice, Andrew Swan awarded certificates to the various COPP groups at the conference and the City of Steinbach is honouring its local COPP volunteers by having the certificate replicated into two plaques. The plaques will be displayed at City Hall and at the Steinbach RCMP Detachment.
Mayor Chris Goertzen said, “Steinbach citizens can be proud of the role they and their fellow residents play in creating a safe community for everyone. On behalf of Council and the City, thank you to all the COPP volunteers for your diligent commitment to the COP Program.”
“The COPP volunteers feel truly honoured by all of this,” said Laurie McLean, COPP Coordinator in Steinbach. “It has been reinforced over and over again that what they do is appreciated by the policing services in Manitoba and by the community in general, and that’s invaluable to us.”
At the annual conference, new program elements were discussed including the new COPP logo, a newly launched COPP website, citizensonpatrol.mb.ca, and new equipment that is now available to COPP volunteers.
The formal dinner and awards event were well attended with large representation of all the police departments in the province, all the COPP groups, and many MPI representatives. Constable Randal Hoffman represented Steinbach’s RCMP detachment and Ste. Anne Police Chief Marc Robichaud was also in attendance. McLean said it was a great opportunity to meet with representatives from more than 60 other groups in the province, as well as the RCMP, City of Winnipeg Police Service, and Brandon Police Service.
McLean went on to say, “After having been in operation for approximately one and a half years in Steinbach, it was a great opportunity for our members to attend and meet COPP members from other communities, as well as representatives from the different police departments. It gave each person a real boost in confidence and enthusiasm.”
Included in the COPP conference were elections for the Provincial Advisory Committee. Steinbach’s McLean was elected to represent Southeast Region10 for a three-year term, replacing George Dyck from Niverville.
“I’m very excited to do this, but will still be devoting as much time as possible to the Steinbach group – they are very near and dear to my heart,” said McLean. “I think it can only be a good thing to be on the provincial team as well. We’ll have a say in the operations, training, and other areas of Manitoba COPP. It filters back to all of the volunteers.”
Steinbach’s COP Program has about twelve dedicated volunteers at this time and is looking to triple that number. To learn more about Steinbach’s COP Program and how to get involved, visit steinbach.ca/steinbach_life/copp_info/ or call Laurie McLean at 320-2911.
