Extra help for Cornfest policing
By Greg Price Taber Times
A
s you see the Taber Police Service patrol the Cornfest grounds, they will be getting some help.
Taber Police Service is continuing to do a
work exchange program with other reserve police forces in helping with each other’s big events in which more manpower is required. “I think it’s very important that police offi-
cers be engaged and interact with different communities and cultures. Our officers going out to both Kainai and to Tsuu T’ina provides us with an excellent opportunity to engage with our First Nations communities and to experience policing in that context,” said Graham Abela, chief of police for the Taber Police Service.“We conducted a stake- holder engagement consultation meeting a few years ago, and one of the things that was identified was some of the community felt we needed to undertake more diversity
training.One of the commitments I took on at that time was to ensure we did that, and this is part of that as well.” Having huge public events like Cornfest has the exchange helping supplement police forces. “These are busy times for our communities
and when you have several thousands of people coming to town or going to their reserve who aren’t normally there, that does promote some policing challenges and the extra help is needed as well,”said Abela.“When you can call on professional police officers from other communities and they can call upon us —it’s a win- win.” Two officers from the Blood Tribe (Kainai) and one from Tsuu T’ina will be helping do patrols at Taber Cornfest alongside Taber Police Service members. “We fully staff each of our police cars with
two people on Cornfest evenings and into the night.We’ve had years where the public has been very good at following the rules and expectations and there has been very little enforcement
required.Then we have had years where it has been absolute may- hem and our cells have been full,” said Abela.“It depends on how the public is act- ing.What I can tell you is we have to err on the side of public safety and caution and act accordingly to be prepared with the eventu- alities that may occur.We have currently nine officers in our patrol function and the
sergeants are assigned to activities that weekend as well along with our auxil- iaries.Having the extra help definitely assists. In the past, we have also called upon the RCMP dog section and provincial sheriffs to assist us.”
Abela added through the
community policing pro- gram, his officers are sensitive to the context in which they
police. Erring on the side of compassion and empathy in dealing with people at Cornfest, Abela added officers try to avoid using the heavy hand of the law unless they have to. “From our history,we try to walk softly and
carry a big
stick.As is our experience in Cornfest,we always try and provide a local presence on the grounds at Cornfest, always having two to four officers on foot, not only policing, but interacting with the public and having a
presence.Usually having a pres- ence is enough.” Just as regular smoking will not be
allowed on the regular Cornfest grounds, this will be the first Cornfest since cannabis was legalized in Canada where the rules are expanded. “The Community Standards Bylaw clearly indicates that the public use of cannabis is not permitted. I can tell you, our community has been very supportive of the bylaw and we are not seeing to a great extent the pub- lic use of cannabis.We have issued tickets for it, mostly in relation to motor vehicles rather than public use,”said Abela.“We are not naive to think public use is not occur- ring,but we are not getting public com- plaints from it. Our officers on patrol aren’t engaged with it any more than we are with liquor.”
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