It’s been nearly half a year since the Grande Prairie Police Service took over Enforcement Services and Mobile Outreach, which officials say has been a great success thus far.
GPPS Chief Dwayne Lakusta spoke on the first five months since the takeover and describes the takeover as a “great opportunity” for the newly established police service to have an impact on the community they serve.
“This was a great opportunity for us to start having an impact on road and public safety in the City of Grande Prairie because it ties right into our tiered policing model,” he says.
Lakusta has been quite vocal about the tiered policing model that the GPPS will utilize when it comes time to take over jurisdiction from the RCMP in Grande Prairie. The model includes initiatives such as community connection through evaluating which situations require or don’t require a “badge and a gun.”
Lakusta adds that the past few months have included an “exhaustive review” of what Enforcement Services provide to the city, and as a result, staffing levels have been increased to better serve the community.
“Traffic safety is a concern so what we’ve done now is we’ve brought our staffing levels up to a full complement, we’re just a few shy, [but] we’re working through the final stages of employment offers,” he says.
Following the elimination of the Public Safety Unit that previously provided services to the city, Lakusta says residents will soon see GPPS officers on the streets in a more fulsome capacity, which will ultimately lead to increased engagement with residents and business owners.
“We’re going to start deploying our officers, they are right now in a limited capacity, but we’re going to have more engagement with the Downtown Business Association with the community engagement team we established,” he says.
Targeted enforcement remains a key area for the GPPS, and Lakusta says as the police service is granted more resources, more opportunities for enforcement will come as well.
“We’re hearing a lot within the city when it comes to speed on certain roadways, and we hear a lot about excessive noise from vehicles, so now with the resources we have, we’re able to conduct those targeted enforcement activities, which is what the city is asking for,” he says. “This is about road safety, it’s not about revenues, it’s about we want people to change their driving habits so it does have an impact.”
Lakusta adds that the GPPS is continuing to look into “other initiatives” with hopes of enhancing the level of road safety in Grande Prairie.
