The Battlefords RCMP held an open house on Friday, May 9 to help support the Citizens on Patrol Program (COPP) and Concern for Youth program (File Photo/BattlefordsNOW staff).

By Austin Mattes

Badges, Burgers and Beautiful Weather

RCMP open house helps raise funds for local youth and safety programs

May 9, 2025 | 7:27 PM

The Battlefords Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) welcomed residents to their detachment on Friday for an engaging open house aimed at helping build stronger ties with the community, while also raising funds for two vital community organizations, the Citizens on Patrol Program (COPP) and Concern for Youth program.

The event drew a large turnout of families and community members on the sunny afternoon to meet RCMP officers, go on detachment tours, learn more about the police service and see the K9 unit, all while contributing to important local initiatives.

Battlefords RCMP K-9 (File Photo/BattlefordsNOW).

“It’s very important for the RCMP to have the community on their side. We wanted to do something for community engagement, have the community celebrate with us, get our faces out there, build that support and let them know we’re here for them, as well as garnish support for our Citizens on Patrol and Concern for Youth program,” said Corporal Jennifer Brewer.

To support the initiatives, the RCMP had a barbeque and collected donations throughout the afternoon with funds going directly to the COPP, a volunteer-led program that assists in crime prevention through neighborhood patrols, and Concern for Youth, a local organization dedicated to providing support and outreach to youth.

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“COPP are completely voluntary, they use their own vehicles and drive around burning their own gas. This will help them with whatever they need to support their day-to-day. Concern for Youth is also a voluntary organization, so this gives them ability to do more things to keep the youth safe and provide more activities,” said Brewer.

COPP Volunteer, Doug Fehr explained that the reason he joined the program was to help combat mischief in the community. He said they are thankful for the support.

“We have operational costs that are ongoing. We do receive some funding from the city but there’s more and more things that we’d like to do for the community, so we are grateful for events like this to help to fund our operations,” said Fehr.

Community leaders also praised the RCMP’s efforts to connect with the public and support meaningful community work.

North Battleford City Councilor, Kent Lindgren hoped the event would help encourage better interactions between RCMP officers and residents.

“Especially with it being mental health week, it’s a great for the to RCMP to make this connection. To some people, the RCMP can be a hard agency to interact with, things like this bring the community in and makes it a little less intimidating and shows that they’re part of the community too,” said Lindgren.

For more information on how to support or volunteer for the COPP or Concern for Youth program, visit their websites.

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austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes