Community Outreach Program/Adopt-A-Block Program

Community Outreach Program 

The Collingwood Community Policing Centre takes great pride in offering outreach programs to the local community. The clear community benefits provided by the community outreach programs are as follows:

• More community involvement enabling open dialogue between all parties, including the office, local residents, and the police department
• Increased awareness of events and incidents happening within the community
• The ability to track and monitor patterns of criminal activities in the community, as well as identify potential problem areas in the future (e.g. skytrain expansion).
• An overall decrease in the crime rate within the community
• Residents taking greater pride in their neighbourhoods, including their own homes
• Providing an outlet for residents to voice any concerns that they may have regarding their community

The goal of our outreach programs is to empower residents by educating them in crime prevention. We also ensure that our programs are flexible so that we are able to adapt them to fit the needs of the community. Members continuously gather feedback, as well as interact with the community members in a constructive fashion while involved with the numerous community outreach programs. The office uses its outreach programs in order to build trust with residents in the area, through a commitment to offering consistent and regular services. The approach of working closely with the community has resulted in both increased effectiveness and efficiency of the office's programs.

Accessibility, on the part of our volunteers, to all of Collingwood's programs has always been a priority to us. All volunteers are encouraged to actively participate in the community outreach programs. The programs have and continue to showcase the talents of our members through their diverse cultural and educational backgrounds. We are proud to say that our members vary in ethnicity, age, gender, educational backgrounds and work experience; however, they all share the same goal of serving our community with the greatest of care.

The Community Outreach programs are sustained through the support of numerous donors, at all levels and financial abilities. Resources for the programs have been and continue to be ensured through proper planning and the commitment of our sponsors. Our outreach programs are focused on educating the local residents and increasing their involvement by building trust and pride in the community. The community support for the office's outreach programs has been strong. The office has made many close relationships within the community, including numerous relationships with the local residents, as well as the police department who works with us in focusing our programs to the areas that benefit the most from our patrols. The community outreach programs have continued to grow, not only in size, but also in reputation.

Adopt-A-Block-Program

The Adopt-A-Block program is a pilot project initiated by the Collingwood Community Policing Centre in partnership with the City of Vancouver in an effort to combat litter in the streets and keep Vancouver spectacular.  It involves the participation of residents who want to keep their neighbourhoods free of garbage and looking bright and clean.  The City will provide those who live within the Collingwood CPC boundaries and wish to take on this initiative with supplies such as garbage bags and tongs and scheduled garbage pickup.

This program has many benefits that include:

• Building a strong and proud community
• Getting to know your neighbours better
• Maintaining a beautiful neighbourhood

The responsibilities of the Collingwood Community Policing Centre are:

• Solicit for and coordinate volunteers for the purpose of conducting routine litter cleanups in the Collingwood neighbourhood.
• Coordinate the matching of volunteers with specific blocks or cleanup areas within the Collingwood neighbourhood and routinely provide that information to the City.
• Track and distribute cleanup materials provided by the city to the Collingwood CPC for use by the program volunteers.
• Make reasonable efforts to organize and oversee adopt-a-block litter cleanup activities and ensure these activities are conducted safely and effectively and in the best interest of the Collingwood CPC and the City.
• Coordinate with the City and volunteers a system to dispose of the bagged collected litter safely and promptly by the City.
• Make reasonable efforts to provide the City with information on the number and frequency of cleanup events, blocks or areas adopted/cleaned and an estimated amount of litter collected (e.g., number of bags full).