Upcoming Alberta Provincial Crime Watch Association Zone 5 meeting aims to make adifference

by Stephen Dafoe
An area organization dedicated to being additional eyes and ears for the RCMP is hosting a
special meeting for members and other fellow crime watch groups. Sturgeon Rural Crime Watch
Association is hosting the Alberta Provincial Crime Watch Association Zone 5 meeting at the
Rivière Qui Barre Hall on Saturday, Feb. 24.
Zone 5 includes Sturgeon Rural Crime Watch, Barrhead & District, Strathcona and Smoky Lake
Rural Crime Watch Associations. The upcoming meeting marks the first Zone 5 gathering since
the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is important to bring the communities—law enforcement, politicians, councillors and
members—together to share their experiences, concerns and possible solutions/actions regarding
crime,” said SRCW Secretary Sherry Menard of the upcoming Zone 5 gathering. “Together, we
can make a difference.”
The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., includes presentations on bullying, trafficking,
property owner rights, and the RCMP’s Community Assisted Policing Through Use of Recorded
Evidence (CAPTURE) program.
The CAPTURE program allows rural residents to help police protect their property, family, and
community by registering their security cameras with the program.
Menard said RCMP K-Division members will present on property rights, human Trafficking and
the RCMP’s CAPTURE program.
Another highlight of the Feb. 24 gathering is an author’s presentation on bullying.
“We are pleased to have Monika Polefka-Proulx, author of No Matter What, speak on a topic
that is close to her heart—bullying,” Menard said.
Polefka-Proulx is an author, publisher, and coach whose company, Reach Love Connect, has two
parts: Reachout Publishing and Unreachable Reach, a family coaching program,
She also coaches’ families of troubled teens, using her 5-STEP R.E.A.C.H process to identify
Root causes, Open Eyes and acknowledge blinders, Attack negative behaviours and influences,
Chase family harmony, and Heal the family unit.
Polefka-Proulx is the author of No Matter What – How Far Would You Go to Save Your Child?
SRCW is hoping attendees will benefit from the various presentations on offer during the
gathering.

Registration is at 9:30 a.m., and the event starts at 10 a.m. Membership is required to attend the
Feb. 24 meeting and is available to Sturgeon County residents at the door for $25. Those
interested in attending can RSVP to sturgeonrcwa@gmail by Feb. 20.
SRCW is also holding its annual general meeting (AGM) in Gibbons on Tuesday, Mar. 19, at 7
p.m. Elections will take place that night focusing on filling the organization’s vacant president