RCMP Sgt. Lita Watson believes that police should always be actively engaged with the community in which they serve.
That’s why the new head of the Lake Cowichan RCMP detachment, with its 11 members, is a big fan of proactive policing and believes that officers should be visible and spend time on foot patrols so they can get to know the community members and learn what their issues are.
“Input from the community plays a key role in helping us determine our priorities and strategies to policing in Lake Cowichan,” Watson said.
“In the coming days and weeks, I’ll be meeting with the community’s leaders and local business people for their input as to what we need to do in regards to policing.”
Watson is replacing Staff Sgt. Stuart Foster, who headed the Lake Cowichan detachment for two and half years and has been transferred to the Nanaimo RCMP detachment.
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She is originally from Saskatchewan and has been a member of the RCMP for 16 years, and has spent all of that time in the Cowichan Valley as part of the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP detachment.
Watson was promoted to sergeant to take over the top job at the Lake Cowichan detachment, where she has been for a little more than a month.
“I feel fortunate to have been selected to come here,” she said.
“It’s a welcome change, and I love this community. There’s a lot of pride in the town and its people and there’s a lot of strength in the community.”
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Watson said road safety, particularly along Highway 18, has been identified as a major concern for the residents of Lake Cowichan, particularly with speeding vehicles and the growing number of accidents involving local elk.
She said the town council has initiated a meeting with the representatives from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, conservation officers and wildlife experts to discuss what can be done to deal with the elk on the highway, and her detachment will participate in any way it can.
“I’ll also be having discussions with our other partners in the RCMP to discuss strategies to deal with other highway issues, like speeding,” Watson said.
“It’s a bit of an off-season now, but the detachment has had reports of some thefts and break-and-enters at some local properties that we’ve been working on. The summer season also has members of the detachment dealing with the safety of tubers on the river, and an increase in speeding boaters on the lake, among other issues.”
Watson said she is also reaching out to build stronger ties between the detachment and the members of the local Lake Cowichan and Ditidaht First Nations.
“As well, one of my goals is to build healthy relationships with all the youth in the community,” she said.
“I come from a small community myself, so I feel at home here. I’m looking forward to getting to know Lake Cowichan better.”
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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