er with the public to solve community concerns. Mile Creek/QEW/Hwy 5 â€" Acting Sgt. Jeff Siemon Q Glen Abbey â€" bounded by Sixteenâ€"Mile Creek/ Hwy 25 (Bronte Road)/QEW/Hwy 5. â€" Sgt. Dave Atkinson Each community has a sergeant in charge of four police officers assigned to patrol the community and each neighborhood has a Community Consultation Committee of which the area sergeant as well as area business people, residents, students, seniors and others, are members. "These committees comprise members from these communities who would receive input from their community about their concerns," said Prasad. The committees meet about four times a year, more if needed, passing along their concerns everybody‘s business to police. Some of Oakville‘s Community Consultation Committees have set up complaint boxes and forms at a strategic location in their community â€" like the foyer of a grocery store â€" along with names and telephone numbers of committee members. Concerns registered in that way are also taken to police. And that‘s where the move away from traditional reactive policing occurs. The area sergeant takes the community‘s concerns to their officers and a plan of action is developed to address the concerns. The police then report back to the Community Consultation Committee on progress. _ And the Halton Regional Police Service has a host of resources â€" officers. and speciallyâ€"designed programs â€" that can be used to combat specific concerns. Two : of" the â€" Oakville "communities", Iroquois Ridge and Maplegrove/Clearview have box numbers in the Oakville Beaver‘s Phone Alone service. There‘s also the Officer in the Schools program in which a community officer spends one day a week in each of Oakville‘s high schools. "They‘re not there to catch kids doing anything wrong or to spy on them, just to interact with them, have lunch with them, answer their questions, give talks on drugs, You and the Law and personal safety and assist students with projects on the law, said Prasad. Other efforts that will allow the police to get to know their community and its members and viceâ€"versa is the Rideâ€"Along program. A 10â€"yearâ€"old program, the police invite anyone who‘d like to ride along with an officer on a shift to learn more about policing. The PEACE (Police Ethnic and Cultural Education) program is designed to give students of different ethnic and racial backgrounds from local high schools a paid summer job. There are also Village Constable programs. In downtown Oakville Constable Gary Ribble patrols on foot, and bicycle, and has become wellâ€"known to local residents, business people, seniors and youths who can talk to him personally about problems. On Kerr Street Constable Ellie Van Vliet does the same job, while Constable Mike Michalski is the officer known in Bronte. The TRACE (Targeted Response Accomplished through Cycling Enforcement) sees Constables Mike Dunn and Scott Mason patrolling problem areas on bicycles, allowing them to do closer, more versatile policing of the community from a bike instead of a car and getting to know people at the same time. TRACE is deployed to address problems as they arise or before they arise in specific areas of town. OAKVILLE 827â€"7406 TORONTO 255â€"2696 The newly formed Task Force out of Oakville‘s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) sees Constables George Schmidt and Dave Cross, often working with the TRACE unit and tackling specific problems like daylight house breakâ€"ins, business breakâ€"ins and thefts from auto in specific areas. The task force has been highly successful and boasts high arrest and property recovery rates since it began in January 1993. The STEP (Selective Traffic Enforcement Program) team in Oakville, Constables Dave Pollard and Jeff Springstead, move around town â€" notifying the public of their moves through local media â€" and do speed and seat belt enforcement as well as targeting local problems of school area traffic safety. But it doesn‘t end there. Many Oakville residents are probably not aware of all the things the police do offer. A speakers‘ bureau program sees officers giving talks to community groups free of charge on topics ranging from personal safety, safety issues in the home and office, sexual assault/date rape, domestic abuse, streetproofing children, home and business security, to drinking and driving, shoplifting, crime prevention through environmental design, robbery prevention, fraud, drugs, and safety for seniors and elder abuse. Police also offer free home security checks in which an officer will visit the home giving pointers on safety tips, locks and alarms. Neighborhood Watch is another successful police program in which Oakville is divided into 57 Neighborhood Watch zones. Those interested in finding out if their area has a Neighborhood Watch can call the program coâ€"ordinator, Rosina Barley at 825â€"4777, Ext. 22223. Those wishing to arrange for a police speaker, home security check, more information about the various police programs or about their neighborhood‘s Community Consultation Committee, can call the Oakville district police station on White Oaks Blvd. at 825â€"4777 for Sgt. Prasad at Ext. 22220. "We‘re trying to get closer to the community and what we‘re trying to erase is the apathy. Once we are able to do that, even to some small degree and get cooperation from the public, our job will be easier and the community will be richer for it,"said 700 Kerr St., Oakville, Ont., Canada L6K 3W5 Tel: (416) 842â€"8030 * Facsimile: (416) 842â€"2460 Dave Coons Chair 170 country squire lane oakville, ontario L6J 423 telephone (416) 845â€"6613 fax (416) 845â€"6475 "Pursuing Excellence in Education Through Commitment and Service" We Thank the Police for Their Efforts on Behalf â€" of Our Community Thanks the Police for their many Community Services FUNERAL DIRECTORS 56 LAKESHORE ROAD WEST OAKVILLE ONTARIO L6K 1C7 Terry Cooke Don Clarke â€" Shaun Webb We Support Community Policing ODakutew Humneral Home Bob Williams Director of Education