BOYLE — Boyle RCMP detachment commander Sgt. Dennis Properzi attended the April 17 village council meeting to provide councillors with an annual update and a look forward at the detachment’s plans for the upcoming months.
Properzi touched on his team’s staffing status, near-future plans for a detachment makeover, and day-to-day priorities during the busy summer in Boyle. Although he’s only been in Boyle for a little more than a year, he shared his observations of the community so far with councillors.
“From what I can see around the village, I’m impressed,” said Properzi. “To be honest, we’re in the eye of the storm here, where it’s calm. I get the briefing notes on what’s happening all around northeastern Alberta, and we’re good here.”
“I’m pretty fortunate to be in a place like this,” he added.
Staffing
The officer noted the detachment’s current staffing roster was in much better shape than the latter half of 2023.
“Last summer I was three members short,” said Properzi. “As of January, we’re back up to staff, minus one. Heading into the summer I’m losing one … but at the end of May I’ve also got a recruit in the chute, and that’s guaranteed.
In addition to a new recruit, Properzi said Cst. Andy Smith, the detachment’s last fourth-year officer, will be transferring out this summer. The team will be made up of second-year officers and recruits — a prospect appreciated by Properzi, but not necessarily everyone.
“There’s a bit of grumbling ‘cause we’re always getting the newbies,” he said. “But we welcome them into Boyle, this is all they know, this is where they start to grow and build their skills and learn everything we know. They’re not coming in with any habits.”
The detachment will also host a work-experience student studying enforcement at Grant MacEwan for approximately 20 hours of hands-on experience per week this summer.
“A lot of people say no to the work experience students from colleges,” said Properzi. “It’s a community member, and to me if it’s someone in the community trying to get an education and better themselves, I’ll do anything to support them.”
He also highlighted the importance of inter-agency support, common throughout the area’s departments, such as the Athabasca County Community Peace Officers and the Sheriff Highway Patrol. The agencies work together on various joint operations, and Properzi said the help makes the bench that much longer.
“We’re all on board, where everybody’s going to have a little shortness in staff, we can overlap a little bit,” he said. “Our big main goal is to keep that visibility in the community, and I know everybody’s busy, but it’s not an excuse not to be out there.”
2024 Priorities
One of Properzi’s first financial priorities for the spring is an upgrade to the detachment itself.
“This fiscal year, I did a lot of in-house stuff, bringing the detachment up to my liking,” said Properzi. “I’m hoping in the next month or so, when you guys’ll be driving by you’ll notice quite a change in the landscape.”
“I come in that way in the mornings, and it feels pretty ‘blah.’ I want to brighten it up a bit, I feel it’s an important building” he said. In other words: “It’s time for a new hairdo.”
“It’s a central location, and people notice those small changes,” said Mayor Colin Derko. “It’s always nice to be moving forward, not backwards, so thank you.”
Other focuses for the detachment in the upcoming months is to increase patrols and community outreach in the surrounding summer villages as seasonal residents settle in, and to increase efforts to keep the public informed of police activity via press releases and RAVE alerts.
In response to an uptick of complaints about late-night activity in public spaces like the splash park and skate park, Properzi said he plans on increasing police presence in the area in a more personal way.
“I might try and augment that with some foot patrols,” said Properzi. “Just to get off the beaten track and see if we can shoo some kids maybe in need of a bit of parenting.”
Coun. Barb Smith suggested more community opportunities for education on fast-evolving scam and phishing attempts, especially for elderly residents — an avenue Properzi said was worth exploring.
