Summer park patrol service has arrived in St. Marys

Residents may notice a few new faces around St. Marys this summer. Last week, two student officers with the Stratford Police Service started patrolling parks, trails, streets and alleys in the Stonetown.

The Park Patrol officers are part of a one-year pilot project that was approved by Town Council in February 2020. The officers are using police-issued bicycles to monitor areas that are normally inaccessible to patrol vehicles, like green spaces, river banks, alleyways and off-road trails. They will be on duty on evenings and weekends throughout the summer.

Although the park patrol officers cannot take official policing action, they can alert on-shift police officers of any crimes or suspicious activity happening in town. They can also enforce municipal by-laws, and their presence may help to reduce nuisance crimes like vandalism, graffiti and petty theft, which occur more often in the summer months.

“The expansion of the Stratford Police Park Patrol program to St. Marys will not only increase visibility and safety in the community but will also provide more opportunity for representatives of the police service to engage with the public to build relationships and enhance public trust,” said Stratford Police Service Chief Greg Skinner.

Skinner continued: “The Park Patrol program is part of our succession planning strategy where students who have an interest in policing as a profession have the opportunity to be part of the police service and gain valuable first-hand experience.”

“Increasing police visibility was one Council’s priorities when we partnered with the Stratford Police,” said Mayor Al Strathdee. “This pilot project is another step in that direction, and will help us ensure that people are using our shared outdoor spaces safely and we start to re-open.”

For more information about policing in St. Marys, visit www.townofstmarys.com/police. To contact police in the event of an emergency, call 9-1-1; in non-emergency situations that require police assistance, call 519-271-4141

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Contact

Brett O’Reilly | Corporate Communications and Events Manager
519-284-2340, ext. 432 | boreilly@town.stmarys.on.ca