The remaining four volunteer members of the Burns Lake Citizens on Patrol Society (COPS) have recently decided to dismantle the group after years of struggling to recruit new members.
“It’s been a bit of a struggle to keep that going,” said COPS president Kelsey Hanson. “We can’t do it with the four of us.”
Formed in the early 1990s, Burns Lake COPS – considered the eyes and ears of the RCMP – had 15 to 20 members at one point. However, the group has progressively lost volunteer members over the years, with three members quitting just last year.
“It has a lot to do with community support,” said Hanson.
The group has contributed to the Lakes District by conducting cellphone and speed watches, reporting criminal activity to the RCMP and volunteering their time to support local events.
“At our speed watches we were quite shocked with how fast people go through town,” said Hanson, adding that at one of these speed watches they caught a driver going 120 km/h on a 50 km/h highway section just out of Burns Lake.
This summer COPS helped with the cleanup of Eagle Creek Fair Grounds after the RCMP musical ride, which attracted over 1,500 people to watch the performance.
“We donated our time a lot, and we were able to keep people safe,” she added.
According to Statistics Canada, Burns Lake’s crime severity index for 2017 was 75.73, lower than Houston (108.57), Smithers (97.86), Vanderhoof (90.56) and Prince George (174.68).
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