There is a call out for people to sign up to join a Rural Crime Watch group being formed for the area North of the Battlefords. (File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Preventing Crime

Rural residents encouraged to sign up to join new Rural Crime Watch group

Nov 9, 2019 | 8:55 AM

Concerned citizens in rural areas North of the Battlefords are being encouraged to join a Rural Crime Watch group being formed for the area.

They can sign up at any of the partnering area municipalities.

About 50 residents attended a Rural Crime Watch presentation held in Cochin Thursday to get an update on crime prevention efforts in the area.

Sherry Jimmy is the Reeve of the RM of Meota and chair of the Rural North Community Consultative Group (CCG), which will be able to help the Rural Crime Watch group get started.

“We were pleased to see over a dozen people sign up for the Rural Crime Watch program,” she said.

Freedom and Flexibility

How App-Based Work Creates Economic Opportunity

Dec 12, 2025

Riderville

Now for the Hard Part

Dec 10, 2025

Seniors Scene

Christmas is Coming

Dec 09, 2025

The Rural North CCG, comprised of representatives from various communities, has regular meetings with the RCMP. The group will determine if there is enough interest to start a Rural Crime Watch group for the area when it meets again in December.

The Rural Crime Watch coverage area includes several communities – Meota, Metinota, Cochin and Aquadeo, the Battlefords Provincial Park, the Saulteaux and Moosomin First Nations, as well as the RM of Meota itself.

“Rural Crime Watch is really just an extra set of eyes in the community to watch out for your own property and your neighbours’ property,” Jimmy said. “It’s being vigilant, and it’s reporting things to the RCMP that may be suspicious in nature.”

Jimmy said crime for the rural area in question has actually gone down in a number of categories with the help of citizens being proactive.

“We would like to keep it that way,” she said.

The rural community also wants to be proactive to prevent crime after noticing it increase in some other places.

“We want to keep crime low, and keep our residents safe. One way of doing this is to look at introducing a Rural Crime Watch program,” she said.

Jimmy said since it started in 2016 the Rural North CCG has helped make the area safer.

Some of the latest computer applications to prevent crime were also discussed at the meeting.

“It’s a use of technology through applications that can communicate information in a very fast way to help direct law enforcement to areas,” Jimmy said.

She said one new application called Lightcatch helps people track activity in the area that could be criminal or suspicious, which they can then report to the RCMP if necessary.

Some of the applications available include the Saskatchewan Crime Watch Advisory Network application that people can easily access on their cellphones.

Many rural area residents have also installed home surveillance cameras for their property as a security measure to ward off criminals and suspicious activity.

Jimmy said residents’ efforts as well as the RCMP and Community Safety Officers work together to curtail crime in the rural communities.

–

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow