COPP chapter prepares to open

Manitoba’s rural crime severity has been rated as the second highest in Canada, with rural communities experiencing crime rates roughly 65 percent higher than urban centers such as Winnipeg.

Figures have not yet been tabulated for 2026 by Statistics Canada using their Criminal Severity Index (CSI), as numbers are updated based on the five most recent years of sentencing data.

Such factors are those behind Manitoba’s now longstanding Citizens on Patrol Program (COPP), which sees law enforcement agencies partner with local residents to expand awareness, presence and shorten response times to crime, particularly in rural areas.

Councilor Kyle Waczko, representing Ward 2 of Ste Anne, has taken up the challenge of getting COPP up and running in his community which lies about 20 kilometers northeast of Steinbach, with a population of approximately 3,ooo residents. He recently conducted an open house meeting to discuss the program last April, but has still not quite yet reached capacity to mount patrols.

“We have found a volunteer coordinator, which is a critical step in the process of setting up a COPP committee,” said Waczko. “Suzanne Goulden will be working with Murray Luschinski, the COPP regional representative in Manitoba, to help facilitate getting this up and running.”

Goulden has already attended a coordinator training conference held in Winnipeg and learned more about the program and the requirements for running its administration.

“As our regional coordinator and myself are not available throughout August, we thought it better to launch our program in a bigger way in the fall,” said Goulden. “At this time, I am working on things behind the scenes, getting my own training completed, but in the way of recruitment we’ve only done a light push so far with the big push set for September.”

While not in response to a specific incident or set of statistics for the community, getting the program operational before the onset of fall is a key priority so it can function safely and effectively throughout the year according to Waczko.

“To date, we have a small group of community citizens signed up and they will be receiving further training as we come out of summer into September,” said Waczko.

“For now, the group will be setting borders within the RM of Ste Anne. In the meantime, over the summer, we will be trying to promote and attract volunteers from in and around the RM in hopes of working together to promote safe communities.”

Communities such as Grunthal are in a similar situation in trying to get their programs operational and are using the summer to build awareness and interest in participation.

Any interested volunteers must fill out a criminal record check with RCMP before beginning training, but the fee is waived for COPP volunteers. Applicants should apply through the RM of Ste Anne and contact rmofsteannecopp@gmail.com for more information.