Inuvik (Oct 13/06) - A volunteer-based citizens patrol is being developed for Inuvik and officials are looking for people to walk the beat.

The creation of the patrol came last week after a meeting between community leaders in the town's council chambers.

Howie Young stands in front of the Inuvik Centennial Library, where a meeting will be held next Thursday night. The gathering will focus on starting a citizens patrol, which would consist of volunteers reporting to the police. The patrol is the result of a meeting last week where community leaders met to discuss ways to prevent youth vandalism. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

The meeting was attended by over 30 people, all from different organizations. It focused on youth vandalism and possible causes.

Mayor Peter Clarkson said the gathering of minds was a good look into possible solutions for the problem of vandalism.

"We want people to be more vigilant about talking to youth about vandalism," said Clarkson.

The citizens patrol was raised by Inuvik justice committee worker Howie Young and resident Chris Larocque.

A meeting to enlist patrol volunteers will be held next Thursday night at the library at 7 p.m.

Young said the program could only work with the co-operation of the community.

RCMP officers would provide people with training. Young explained that no physical actions would be taken by the community patrol.

"All they would do is be the eyes and ears for the police," said Young.

"The people could be helping the police by providing information."

Young said a citizen patrol is needed to reduce violence and vandalism.

"There are problems in this community that we need to solve," said Young.

"The more people we have in the patrol, the more stable the program can be."

Parents at the meeting said they were concerned with youth being on the streets at late hours.

Clarkson said there were discussions about the responsibility of parents and accountability.

"A lot of the time, the parents aren't even aware their kid has snuck out of the house. The kids might feel a lack of consequence for their actions."

Larocque said the concerns were valid and action needs to be taken soon.

"I hope the groups who attended will carry through with the plans discussed," said Larocque.

RCMP officers Cpl. Jim Strowbridge and Cst. Tim Fifield were also at the meeting. Strowbridge said the point of the meeting was to find solutions and not just complain about the problem.

"A lot of ground work was done."