By Andrea Nicholl
A Lloydminster resident has been recognized by the provincial government for her efforts to keep our community safe and our city aware of criminal activity.
Christine Benson, Neighbourhood Watch Society chairperson, was one of 12 recipients to be recognized for their contributions to make neighbourhoods safer and raise awareness about crime prevention.
Benson received the award at the 19th annual Solicitor General and Public Security Prevention Awards ceremony held in Edmonton on May 7 and says she was surprised and honoured to accept the award.
“It’s really nice to receive it and it’s nice to be acknowledged for the work that I’ve done,” said Benson, a 22–year member of the Lloydminster Neighbourhood Watch Society.
This year marks the second time Benson has received the award, after being presented with a similar plaque in 1995 and says she’s kept with the local society because she’s had the time, interest and realizes it’s importance to the community.
“It’s really, really important,” she said from her downtown home. “If we work together as a community we could help educate people in terms of personal and home security and we could help reduce the crime in our neighbourhoods.
“It’s about looking at your neighbourhood and saying what kind of neighbourhood do we want and what can we do to get that?”
Benson says when Neighbourhood Watch was first introduced by RCMP and the city residents were on board, though support and community participation has waned. She was too embarrassed to say how many of the 40 zones have active coordinators and members, but admits there’s a lack of interest.
“We’ve had meetings where no one has attended, maybe just one or two and I don’t know why.
“When Neighbourhood Watch first started (in Lloydminster) 22 years ago people weren’t locking their doors, they weren’t being conscientious about their home security, or even their personal security. With the crime trends changing and increasing there was a need for people to change what they were doing,” she said.
“There’s still carelessness, there’s still those kinds of opportunity crimes, but it’s nothing like it could have been if people hadn’t talked about and acted upon preventative measures.”
Benson says the community is taking a more reactive approach, rather than a proactive one when it comes to fighting crime. She says residents must be alert, aware and communicate with each other to identify crime patterns and trends to stop it before it happens, and so law enforcement can take quick action when it does.
“Don’t just drive from your house to the coffee shop. Don’t just think about going for a cup of coffee – notice if there’s anything different in your neighbourhood – is anybody’s gas cap off? Is anybody’s license plate missing?”
Recipients of the Solicitor General and Public Security Prevention awards are selected by a committee of representatives from the Alberta government, community crime prevention agencies and Alberta police agencies. The ceremony marked the official launch of this week’s Crime Prevention Week (May 9 to 15) in Alberta.