Police in Nanaimo want citizens to keep their eyes and ears on schools.
Nanaimo RCMP and Crime Stoppers are drumming up interest from the public to get behind a proposed Schools Watch program.
Similar to Block Watch and other neighbourhood crime prevention programs, Schools Watch would rely on neighbours of secondary and elementary schools and those who live on streets used by students commuting to and from schools.
“Trustees overwhelmingly endorsed the proposal,” said Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman. “We’ll be taking it to McGirr, Barsby and Pleasant Valley in the fall.”
The program is community-driven.
“It’s really contingent on how people in the surrounding areas are interested in getting involved, as to whether or not it will be successful,” O’Brien said.
Community meetings will be held in the areas of the schools in September to let people know how the program works and how to get involved.
Nanaimo is one of the first communities in Canada to initiate a School Watch program.
For more information, please call O’Brien at 250-755-3257.