LPS acting Chief of Police displays optimism for the new year

He said the drug crisis has had a significant impact on the community and has affected a lot of families.

“That would be one thing in retrospect as a police service I would have liked to have done maybe a little bit different…just developing a plan a little bit earlier than what we had and implementing it sooner than we will be in January [with the CST],” Woods commented.

However, he believes the LPS’ idea to tackle the drug crisis and address issues within the community is a “solid plan” but it may take a while to get a handle on things, so patience is key.

MENTAL HEALTH

Woods also touched on the mental health calls that the LPS receives.

“We’re getting more and more of those calls that are tying up more and more of our resources. Not having the ability to deal with that…that comes back to other areas within the community,” he said.

“We often, as police, will get called to those calls and really at the end of the day have nowhere to take some of these people, so those resources are needed and will continue to strain and challenge our police service.”

He said that it’s important to not only offer support to citizens while juggling resource management, but to make sure that the mental health of officers is considered.

“This job isn’t easy nor is any other job as a first responder. What’s happening with our officers is they’re starting to get burned out and dealing with a lot of different things, so to make sure that we have good, effective plans going forward and the resources necessary to help our officers [is key],” he said.

Woods added that at the end of the day, if officers are not taken care of, the entire force will be down in resources. Mental health is something the LPS will focus on in the new year.

NO HOMICIDES IN 2019

One statistic of note for 2019 is that the year saw no homicides in Lethbridge.

“We’re very fortunate that we don’t have some of these issues going on in our community that other big cities have related to gang violence and a few other things, and I think that’s been a contributing factor,” Woods said, explaining the zero number of homicides.

He said the hard work of first responders and staff at Chinook Regional Hospital have also helped save lives that could have been lost due to a violent act.

He added that front-line training for police officers has been improved over the years, to make sure they can assist someone who has been assaulted on scene if they arrive first before medical personnel.

“We’re quite happy to not have homicides…one is too many. It’s unfortunate when somebody loses a life to a violent act. We usually have anywhere from, you know, one to three. We’ve had some really bad years of late here a number of years ago – I think we had 10 in two years – so, we’re quite happy when we see that they’re not happening, but they’re pretty tough to predict.”

CHIEF RESIGNS

A significant event for the Lethbridge Police Service was the resignation of former Chief, Rob Davis. Davis took on the position of Chief for the Brantford Police Service in Ontario.

“[That] had an impact both on our police service and specifically on me because it’s moved me up into that role and having to deal with the many things a chief has to deal with on a daily basis,” Wood said.

“I’ve enjoyed my time doing it. It’s been challenging [and] it’s been rewarding. As the Deputy Chief, you definitely are involved in a lot of the same things that a Chief of Police is but there are some differences, so it’s been an easier transition [for me] I think being the Deputy Chief into the role.”

He added that he has particularly enjoyed attending community events in Lethbridge usually reserved for the Chief of Police and overall, the role has so far been a rewarding experience.

“I’ve really enjoyed the ability to deal with a few issues and specifically, I talked about re-allocating some resources and some strategies moving forward in trying to deal with some of the issues we’re faced with in Lethbridge, so that’s been both interesting, challenging and rewarding for me.”

HIGHLIGHTS

The drug crisis aside, Woods said 2019 featured many highlights, including the largest cadet class in the Lethbridge Police Service’s history.

“We had about 30-plus cadets, which were cadets from Manitoba and First Nations, cadets from CP Rail and Taber Police Service as well as the Blood Tribe in addition to our own officers and Community Peace Officers that we put through a 22-week program. That was not only challenging but extremely rewarding because it was the first time [that] we were able to do that,” he said.

The implementation of The Watch downtown initiative was also noted as a success, as well as the LPS’ Youth Academy, where officers mentor high school students, teaching them about a career in policing.

The LPS teamed up with other services, including Blood Tribe Police, for the annual Alberta Law Enforcement Torch Run, which raised thousands for Special Olympics Alberta.

Lethbridge Police also hosted its Police Run event back in October and an LPS case is set to be featured on the CBC true crime series, ‘The Detectives’.

Woods concluded that although there is crime in the city, Lethbridge is still a “fairly safe community”, and the LPS plans to move forward on its missions to address crime in the region going forward and will work to relieve “stresses that are going on within the community.”

“People have to keep an open mind that the police can’t solve everything by [themselves]. The reality is we are going to need some help with some of these things – whether it’s dealing with people’s addictions so they get to treatment, to help, intox centres, supportive housing for some people because it’s all inter-related with a number of the problems that we’re dealing with from a policing standpoint…and have trust in us,” he said.

“We’re certainly not going to put our head in the sand and say that we’re ducking the issues and we don’t have any issues but on the flip-side of that coin, I think we have a pretty good plan going forward to deal with [community issues]. We’re doing our best and working hard.”

Woods added that there are many officers who are parents, so they are extremely invested in what’s going on and want to ensure they can do whatever they can to make Lethbridge as safe as possible.

by Justin Goulet

LPS acting Chief of Police displays optimism for the new year

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