As a firefighter in the city, I have had plenty of opportunities for community involvement and public relations as children and parents are often welcomed in the stations and to the trucks. I feel this is a service we owe the community, after all, they do pay our wages and it is a great morale booster for our staff as well as giving us an opportunity to deliver some prevention and education.
Unfortunately, I don’t see this enough in the police service and have often wondered why this is. I’m sure there are plenty of reasons, but the bottom line is people in the community don’t just walk up to a cruiser for a friendly conversation as they might have in the past. That is until recently with the adoption of the Mounted Patrol Unit. The Unit is a brilliant way of delivering one on one relationship building between police and citizens. As far as I’m concerned, the city has got it right. So, congratulations Chief and the men and women on horseback who are going above and beyond.