The Penticton community policing office and auxiliary police members are offering free child identification kits to parents this weekend.
“It’s something nobody ever wants to have to dig out, but if your child ever does go missing, it can help bring closure to the case,” said Jim Porteous, Penticton safety co-ordinator. “It is a record that the parent can have available so that if their child should go missing, it can be a starting point for police to start tracking them.”
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Cherry Lane shopping centre, volunteers and auxiliary police members will be taking children’s fingerprints to give to the parents to keep as part of a child identification kit. Porteous advises parents should take the prints, along with a small sample of their child’s hair and an updated photo, and put them in safe spot.
The event will also serve to bring awareness to their volunteer-based Citizens on Patrol, speed watch and operation lockout auto crime programs. Porteous said in the past year Citizens on Patrol have increased their patrol hours in Penticton by about 20 per cent.
“It just has been a fantastic group of people and the things they are finding are phenomenal,” said Porteous. “This includes businesses that have gates that are insecure, suspicious people at schools and parks, vandalism and more that they report to the RCMP. They have been very, very valuable to the community.”
Porteous said as part of the community policing service, businesses can contact him and arrange a time if they feel they should be doing more to secure their buildings and property. A walk through can be done for a proper security check where he can provide recommendations.
“We find a lot of insecure premises where the Citizens on Patrol have actually gone and locked a gate that may have been forgotten by the last employee there. Who knows what the volunteers have possibly stopped in the way of vandalism or theft over the years,” said Porteous.
Volunteers for Citizens on Patrol are subsidized for fuel and their equipment has been bought and paid for through community donations.
To become a volunteer you must fill out an application form, get a criminal record check and perform a couple of ride-alongs with the Citizens on Patrol supervisor. Members patrol the hotspots in the city known for vandalism, especially the schools, have tipped RCMP to drunk drivers, located stolen vehicles and even have helped catch wanted fugitives.
The job of a volunteer is to observe and report, they never get close because their mandate is to always be safety conscious. They are not equipped to arrest anyone. Those interested in learning more about Citizens on Patrol or having a security check done on their business can contact Porteous at 250-490-2373.