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May 16,2008 - Tri City News

By Diane Strandberg - The Tri-City News - May 16, 2008


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PMPD officers Fraser Renard and Todd Lefebvre.
 
Port Moody youth will have someone looking out for them when they hit the beaches, parks and other hangouts this summer.

Two PoMo Police Department officers, Fraser Renard and Todd Lefebvre, will be working in July and August to make sure kids stay safe, parties don’t get out of control and problem behaviour doesn’t ruin the summer fun for everyone else.

The summer job is a change for PMPD’s youth services section, which used to re-deploy its youth officers after schools closed in June.

Chief Const. Brad Parker said the change, which follows an expansion that occurred in September when Lefebvre joined Renard on the youth beat, is a recognition that youth issues don’t stop when classes end.

“It makes no sense to [shut the department down in June]. Things are so fluid in that community,” said Parker, who became PMPD chief in January.

Renard, 32, and Lefebvre, 34, will continue to work days and weekend nights to build relationships with young people and tackle gang and drug issues, Parker said.

Keeping the two men on the youth beat during the summer months will provide stability needed to build strong relationships but they will also be enforcing the law as well.

“It’s not just a bunch of guys that hand out suckers and balloons,” Parker said.

Last fall, the two busted a suspected drug house where drugs were being sold and used by local teens. The case is still before the courts but it’s an example of what the two are capable of, Parker said, noting the PMPD youth section will have access to surveillance teams and special investigation squads if they need them and will be working to stop recruiters from luring young people into gangs.

“That’s an issue we need to stay on top of,” said Parker, who said PoMo isn’t any different than any other city when it comes to problematic youth behaviour.

Lefebvre and Renard will be visiting known hotspots, such as White Pine Beach, Rocky Point Park and the PoMo rec centre area, where trouble — usually alcohol-related — can sometimes occur.

The two said they will be enforcing laws against drinking and driving, bootlegging and drug trafficking but their appearance doesn’t always mean trouble. Sometimes, they’ll stop a young person walking alone at night just to make sure they’re safe.

“It’s not always issues related,” Renard said. “We kind of go where they need us.”

And parents should beware: Lefebvre and Renard aren’t going to let kids off with a warning. A more pro-active approach developed through their work in local high schools this fall and winter means they’ll be calling parents and asking them to pick up their kids.

“We’ll be asking them what, if anything, productive is your kid doing out at 1 a.m., and to come and get them” said Renard.

dstrandberg@tricitynews.com

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