Cornwall to get citizen patrol program

The Town of Cornwall is getting ready to launch a citizen patrol program.

Deputy Mayor Corey Frizzellmet with the RCMP several timesto talk about how to set up the patrols and he now has the go-ahead from council.

The town is now looking for 16 volunteers who will take turns driving through neighbourhoods, mostly on weekend nights, looking out for any suspicious activity.

Frizzell said they would be the eyes and ears for the RCMP and will contact them if they see anything.

"They will be equipped with kits like first aid kits, flash lights, binocularsincident reports. And they're just be patrolling around the town of Cornwall keeping an eye out for stuff like dangerous driving, underage drinking [and] suspicious behaviour," Frizzell said.

Frizzell said similar programs in other communities such asStratford have been successful.

WhileCornwall doesnt have a huge instance of crime, he said Stratford saw a reduction in vandalism, underage drinking and loitering once it put community policing in place.

He said the goal is to have the first patrols on Halloween.