The Turner Valley RCMP wants to hear from you.
The detachment is hosting a town hall meeting, which will include an open floor opportunity for residents to have their voices heard, as it looks to set priorities for the coming fiscal year.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at the Priddis Community Hall, 178131 Priddis Valley Rd. W.
"It's to hear from the public mostly, to find out what their priorities are and needs are, and any concerns that they've had from the previous year,” said S/Sgt. Don Racette, the detachment commander. “We want to hear from the public because if they don't think we're doing a good job, we want to hear about it; if we're doing a good job, we want to hear about it.
"But more importantly, we want to have engagement with them because if they think there's something that we need to focus on, such as maybe speeding within their community, we want their input so we can work together and address their needs, wants and expectations.”
The forum will also include a review of RCMP activities over the past year and a presentation on fraud prevention.
Racette said a local councillor requested the detachment address the issue of scams to help prevent Foothills residents from being victimized.
“We’re trying to educate them because the more you know, the better off you are,” he said. “It might seem obvious, but if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. We hear that all the time, but there are people that still fall for those scams and lose a significant amount of money as a result of that.
“I hope we can educate some people because I hate seeing people lose money.”
Racette said a common misconception is that police will be able to retrieve lost money after a fraud complaint is filed.
“Some people believe that if I call the cops, the cops are going to get my money back for me. Unfortunately, that's not how this works,” he said.
“We can make an application with our Crown prosecutor to have restitution, but it may or may not happen.”
The Turner Valley detachment serves Diamond Valley, Eden Valley First Nation, Hartell, Longview, Millarville, Naphtha and Priddis.
