About 40 people attended a public forum about break-ins and vandalism to homes on a La Ronge-area reserve on Monday night.
The Bell’s Point reserve was the scene of a suspicious house fire last week – a fire that local Mounties confirm was preceded by multiple break-in attempts at that same dwelling.
Former reserve resident Ron Bradfield says it has been an issue for years.
“Lots of things have been happening in this community for quite a few years,” he says. “The community has had it and they’re getting together and trying to address the problems and find a solution where everybody could live in a safe and happy community.”
Bradfield says among the action items that have been agreed upon is the creation of a Neighbourhood Watch type of program.
“The community is going to start getting together and making a committee to go out and start a Neighbourhood Watch.”
Bradfield says a planning meeting on that idea will be taking place in two weeks.
But in an interview with MBC’s Abel Charles, Bradfield admits there is some reluctance to get involved because of the fear of retaliation. Here’s a transcript of a portion of that interview:
Bradfield: “They’re just tired of feeling threatened and their homes being vandalized and numerous other things around.
Charles: “So they fear if they did said something, or did something — put their foot down — they would become targets.”
Bradfield: “Yes, I believe that.”
Bradfield says the community is trying to come up with ideas to protect people who want to help make things safer.
He also says there are some things they would like to do – such as implementing a curfew – which Bell’s Point can’t do on its own.