The Park Patrol is on the roll in West Niagara communities.
That’s the name given to the community-oriented policing initiative by officers at Grimsby’s 8 District of the Niagara Regional Police Service. It was created to interact with the community and ensure the parks are being used safely and legally.
8 District officers are patrolling all of the parks in West Niagara communities of Grimsby, West Lincoln, and Lincoln. They are watching to ensure the park rules are being followed by people using the facilities. Rules are posted at the entrances of each park.
“Many of the residents in the community have been using the parks as they are designed to be used however, we recently received a report of an individual riding an ATV through Hilary Bald Park (in Lincoln) while children were playing in the park,” said District Commander Shaun Parrent.
There have been no arrests, tickets, or warnings so far, said Parrent, “just positive interactions with our community.”
Free Frosty coupons for kids with helmets
Officers have however given out free Frosty coupons, provided by local Wendy’s franchisees, to reward kids they saw wearing helmets while riding their bikes or while skateboarding.
The initiative will continue into the Fall at which point it be will re-evaluated “depending on how many people are still using the parks as the colder weather sets in,” said Parrent.
You can follow the Park Patrol project via the 8 District Twitter account at @8Nrps using the link https://twitter.com/8Nrps. Officers are posting photos to the account as they visit various parks.