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REALITIES Friday May 24 Mil Page Protecting Hills residents is their job Working with community a top police priority By LISA The Herald Last year was a successful one for solving crime in Halton Hills but a bad year for Hills citizens who suffered from creased criminal activity No matter how good our of solve cases the un fortunate side is more people became victims and were violated last year said Halton Hills Staff Inspector Richard Locally residents suffered more criminal incidents than they did in 1989 Police were able to solve per cent of the total number of cases in 1990 statistics for the first quarter of this year indicate crime is up over the same time penod last year Statistics show 54 residents property damage com pared to 30 last year thefts under 1 are up to from 54 thefts over 1 are up to 11 from three in there were break and enters this year compared to last year six domestic assaults this year from four 1990 and assaults are equal to having occurred last year and this year so far To combat the increase Staff Inspector Kivell plans to in new programs and stren then existing ones Insp Kivell This year two regular patrol officers will be placed on a special task force within the criminal investigations bureau to work on specific areas of crime such as vandalism break and enters and wilful damages This was done last year with a measure of success said Staff In spector Kivell He also intends to increase of ficers on foot patrol as well as in crease the presence of officers using radar and enforcing seat belt laws This will help us reduce the number of motor vehicle and in turn reduce the number of personal injuries he said Moreover he s going to in crease patrols in community parks elevate the number of It violations being issued by increasing spot checks and work more closely with the community consultation committee on ing Staff Inspector Kivell said the developing relationship between the police force and the t on committee as well as the community as a whole took off in We have a really good working relationship with the community hesaid He hopes the relationship will continue to develop in the area of crime prevention Halton Hills just welcomed Sergeant Dave Gwilliams who will work full time crime prevention Other new programs and tions that were recently established include Georgetown new village constable in downtown Georgetown and the Halton Hills Drinking and Driving Association Fire department prides itself on meeting community needs For the first time in five years the Halton Hills Fire Department can report a decrease in fire damage loss and this is just one of the many accomplishments of the department said fire chief William Cunningham In his Annual Report the Chief stated the ongoing efforts of our Fire Prevention Division are bearing results He also revealed that for the third year in a row Halton Hills had had no firerelated deaths Some areas that were improv ed on last year include the department s resources The department necessary extinguishers and ex agents that were needed to support the program This encouraged more handson training and reduced the risk to businesses stated the report The primary focus of the 1990 Fire Prevention Division was the area of public education Fire prevention officers gave 36 hall tour fire safety presents tions to students YMCA baby sitter courses one Girl Guide safety badge course portable fire extinguisher training courses two career day to students and two presentations on high rise safety to the tenants of Sands Con dominiums As for fire suppression the report indicated the estimated value of property lost to fire in dropped sharply from the peak of over million As well the number of calls for assistance dropped significantly during the past year Some of the new programs the department started last year in elude a Hazardous Materia Response Team which began specialized training to prepare and respond to hazardous materials incidents The team was also and will continue to research and acquire equipment necessary to enable them to safe ly deil with small spills and ac cidents Looking towards the future the report indicates that much of the apparatus presently in service will require replacement in this decade Meeting today needs and at the same time preparing for the future is of critical importance the report states PEOPLE DO READ THE HERALD CLASSIFIEDS CALL 877 8822 TODAY TO PLACE YOUR AD PROGRESSING INTO THE 90s From the eight original employees we have expanded our hot dipped galvanize operations to include 56 employees from the Halton Hills and area We continue to produce large tonnage of commercial hot dipped galvanized com ponents per year Our success is not only due to favorable markets but also to the commitment and hard work of our employees GALVCAST mfg inc Commerce ACTON 8533540