The ThunderBlogs

Usually when West End residents see men and women on Davie Street wearing the community policing centre’s signature yellow shirts, they can assume a group of volunteer officers are on patrol. But Saturday those same volunteers donned their yellow shirts to raise awareness of the West End Coal Harbour Community Policing Centre’s services in an open house event.

“There’s a lack of knowing what we do,” said Constable Kelly Risebrough of the community’s perception of the centre. “That’s why these days are important.”

The open house promoted what some staff said are the lesser-known services at the centre, such as crime prevention and access to community resources.

A display on the street featured the centre’s Speed Watch program. Bordered by pylons, a radar gun stood in the road facing oncoming traffic. A large speedometer flashed each driver’s speeds as they passed. A volunteer officer recorded these on a clipboard.

On the sidewalk stood a table of pamphlets, posters, and a bike engraving station. Cyclists could have their drivers licence number engraved into their bikes as a method of theft prevention or theft retrieval.

Inside the centre volunteers answered questions and toured visitors past the reception desk to offices, meeting rooms, bike-patrol storage and a lounge. Most visitors were young families that had only become aware of the event by the display out front.

Parents of young children were invited to have a Child Find I.D. Kit made that they could store at home in the case of an emergency.

Yi Hong Li, a 30-year-old BCIT forensics graduate and volunteer, gently dipped the little ones’ fingerprints in ink and rolled them onto personal booklets. Many children stood proudly against a measuring tool and exposed toothless smiles as their pictures were taken.

“Lovely idea, isn’t it?,” said Eileen Brimacombe, an 82-year-old office volunteer, of the positive interaction the children were having with the officers. “And now they won’t grow up saying ‘Oh no! There’s a police man!’”

Aleya Trott, the centre’s executive director, said she thinks the West End community may not have a complete understanding of what the centre can offer.

“I think the community knows we’re here,” said Trott, “and they know that they can come to us when they’re in trouble, but I don’t think they know all that we do.”