REALTORS® and police officers from across the Lower Mainland gathered this month to celebrate 20 years of partnership through the Realty Watch program. At our annual Realty Watch Police Breakfast on November 6, nearly 200 police officers and law enforcement officials learned about the value of the Realty Watch program in helping locate missing persons.
The breakfast kicked off the BC Crime Prevention Society’s annual training symposium. It’s the sixth year Realty Watch has been a part of this symposium.
Realty Watch is a community policing program in which police can mobilize Realtors across the Lower Mainland to be on the lookout when a child or vulnerable adult goes missing. When police send us a fan-out request, we send you a text message with details about the missing person.
The program started 20 years ago and was borne out of tragedy – watch this video to learn more about the history of Realty Watch and how it works.
This year, the breakfast featured guest speakers Superintendent Michael Porteous of the Vancouver Police Department and Chief Neil Dubord of the Delta Police Department.
Superintendent Porteous gave the audience an overview of the current organized crime landscape in the Lower Mainland. He spoke about how our ports, proximity to the United States, and our multicultural makeup create a fertile ground for organized crime and the illicit drug trade to thrive in the region.
Chief Dubord spoke about the importance of fostering partnerships and dialogue in community policing. Delta police employ a “no call too small” philosophy that creates good relationships within the community. Each positive interaction makes a small deposit into the community’s “trust account.” This, Chief Dubord says, is vital when you have to make the inevitable “catastrophic withdrawal” from that trust account in moments of crisis.
To learn more about the Realty Watch program, visit www.realtywatch.net.