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New Crime Suppression Team has hit Lethbridge streets

Just a month after informing City Council of his plans for a Crime Suppression Team, Lethbridge Police Chief Scott Woods says the new unit has now hit the streets.

The creation of the team involved redeploying officers from non-frontline areas to fill vacancies. Currently there are six members – one Sergeant and five Constables.

Woods says the goal is to target problem areas and unwanted behaviours and is confident this new policing unit will have an impact. “We have seen the ongoing effects of the drug crisis on our community and we’ve heard the concerns raised by our citizens,” said Chief Scott Woods. “The Crime Suppression Team won’t be a cure-all, but having dedicated resources to enhance our street presence and strategically target the spin off crime, public disorder and chronic offences that have resulted will have an impact.”

Last year (2019), there was a significant increase in calls near the Supervised Consumption Site and downtown core. The increase in calls included street robberies, assaults, thefts and commercial break-ins. In addition, police continue to respond to reports of disturbances, suspicious persons and property-related crimes throughout the city. As a result of the ongoing violence, property crime and drug-related offences, public perception of safety across the community has faltered.

Chief Woods says this Crime Suppression Team will actively target those issues. He notes these officers are committed to making a difference.

Community members can follow @LethbridgeCST on Twitter for updates.

(Story files from Lethbridge Police Service Release)

Patrick Siedlecki
Patrick Siedlecki
Pat has been a mainstay in the CJOC News department from the time the station launched in 2007. He's been in the position of News Director since then and has been anchoring daily news casts as well as reporting and working behind the scenes. Community is important to him and keeping CJOC listeners and readers informed about what's happening across southern Alberta and beyond. Pat has been in radio broadcasting for the past 24 years, starting in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in 1997 and then moving up island to Nanaimo for another few years before heading to Lethbridge in 2007. Pat grew up in the small Saskatchewan farming town of Foam Lake. After high school, he went to Western Academy Broadcasting College (WABC) in Saskatoon prior to moving to the island. Pat also spent several years broadcasting hockey in the BCHL as well as seven years as the radio voice of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL. Pat has been working at Cornerstone Funeral Home in Lethbridge as a Certified Life Celebrant and Funeral Assistant since 2016. News and sports have always been Pat's passion from the time he was a teenager and he's always been grateful to have had the opportunity to make that part of what's been a fun and long radio career!
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