The Anishinabek Police Service has launched a new campaign to improve the lines of communication between police and the community.
Sgt. Chantal Larocque said the 'If You See It, Report It' campaign aims to curb gang related activities, by making sure tips and information get into the right hands.
"What we noticed is that a lot of the information being given to police was coming in ways that we were not able to use it," said Larocque. "For example, in the poster that we launched, calling the band office to say this is going on, was not a way that police could use that information to take any type of action. There are two issues with that, one is that it's second-hand information and often it doesn't get back to us. Or, what we find too is that sometimes there will be a tragic incident and then people say well we saw this, but they never reported it at the time. So, timely reports are key as well."
Nevaeh Pine - If You See It Report It Campaign (Submitted photo)
Sgt. Larocque said they have noticed a spike in gang related activities on First Nation territories.
"Shootings, guns being seized in different communities across the province, definitely lots of drugs being sold or purchased and coming through the first nation territories," she said. "And then, the worst case scenario in my opinion is our young women that are going missing or being victimized in regards to human trafficking."
She said the social media campaign includes a short video to help spread the message.
The Anishinabek Police Service covers 16 member communities across the province including Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.
