Citizens On Patrol in High River has a fancy new ride thanks to Ward Tires.

Citizens On Patrol Director, Pat George says he went into Ward Tires to ask where they had purchased their company smart cars from, when they offered him one for the organization.

"Well, I went down to Ward Tire when I noticed they had some smart cars there. I asked Ryan where he had bought or sourced them since they were used cars." Ryan asked why he needed the vehicle and upon explanation offered to donate one to the group says George. "They generously coughed up a car for our sole use, and we had C.O.P put on so people can recognize it and now it's in use."

Ward Tirecraft is now a sponsor of the vehicle, and George says the organization is very grateful.

"We're ecstatic, they're used cars so there's not a fortune invested in them, and for us just running around High River it's excellent because a tank of fuel last a long, long time."

George says it's a pretty nice little ride, that's surprisingly well laid out and feedback from the members and the public has been positive.

"We're actually hoping that the car will help attract more people! We need more people supporting us on patrols, but we're getting a really positive response from the general public." George explains "We used to use our personal vehicles so it looked like just another vehicle driving around but now the public can identify it."

Citizens On Patrol helps curb crime in the community by observing and reporting anything they see to the RCMP who can act quickly.

George says they've stopped a few serious crimes, but most of what they see is minor.

"One of our members witnessed a vehicle being stolen, and called it in right away so the Police responded promptly and got that all in hand. We've had minor instances as well, a lot of things we report in are in residential neighbourhoods where we find lots of garage doors left up at night with items exposed so we'll call those in and police take action on that."

Volunteers create their own schedule, and work in pairs for safety.

In order to become a C.O.P volunteer, you'll need a police background check and then you can contact Tammy Beach with Citizens On Patrol.

 

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