Diverse community groups will have an easier time having their voices heard.
A brainchild of Inspector Mike McCauley, head of the Fort Saskatchewan RCMP, and Coreen Rayner, director of the Fort Saskatchewan Protective Services Department, the Community Cultural Focus Group held their first meeting on Oct.7.
The purpose of this meeting was to bring forth concerns, issues and gaps that exist between law enforcement and the many diverse and under-represented groups that call Fort Saskatchewan home.
“Given the current climate in both the United States and Canada, we wanted to put a real focus on cultural awareness,” said McCauley. “We wanted to have a safe space where we could relate and have them feel comfortable to speak to us and share their stories.”
He added that – by engaging with Indigenous people, Black people and other minorities proactively – law enforcement will be better able to serve them. This comes after mass police brutality protests spread throughout North America over the summer, following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.
The focus group includes city councillor and Nigerian immigrant Jibs Abitoye, altView executive director Mike Green, Clarisse Truscott from the Filipino community and Gloria Brathwaite with Restorative Justice.
“We wanted to recruit some people who we knew were pillars of the community in their respective under-represented groups,” added McCauley. “We asked them how best we could reach their groups because the standard RCMP town halls – which work for some of our community – don’t work for all of them.”
With COVID-19 restrictions increasing once again, the group will not be able to meet regularly.
However, McCauley and Rayner will use the insights that were shared in their initial meeting to concentrate on enhancing inclusion and overcoming systemic racism.
“There doesn’t appear to a specific problem in Fort Saskatchewan, which is great news, but I truly do believe we can always be better,” explained McCauley. “I’m hoping we can, on the proactive front, have these under-represented groups feel more heard, feel more connected to their Protective Services and RCMP community – which will further strengthen our bond and our ability to provide the best policing service to them.”
