Ed Lackner has been a COP volunteer for 25 years
By Joan Janzen
Ed Lackner has been on patrol as a member of Citizens On Patrol (COP) for the past 25 years. The 88-year-old Kindersley resident remembers the very first patrol that took place in 2001.
“We started up in February 2001,” he recalled. “We always went out in pairs of two, more or less watching for suspicious things or strange vehicles, especially at night.”
Ed Lackner has been a volunteer member of Citizens On Patrol in Kindersley for 25 years. The 88-year-old Kindersley resident was on the very first patrol that took place in 2001. Photo by Joan Janzen
Volunteers who witness any suspicious activity then phone the RCMP. “When we first started, we had a radio to contact the police,” he recalled. “There were times when we would do surveillance; that doesn’t happen now.”
Ed explained that each patrol is four hours long. “Sometimes we had two patrols a night when we first started,” he said. But generally, Ed would go out on patrols three or four times a month, and once a month during more recent years.
“I did over 500 patrols in 25 years,” he reported. Although he stopped patrolling last year, he is still in charge of keeping track of statistics for COP and has a binder containing records from the very beginning.
“One time, somebody spotted a vehicle behind a business and notified the police. They didn’t break in, but they had break-in tools in their possession,” he recalled.
He shared another story that occurred years ago. “The RCMP called me in to babysit at the jail one time when I was on patrol,” he said, as he recalled there were only two people in the jail at the time.
As he leafed through a large binder, Ed shared some interesting statistics. Since 2001 to the end of 2024, there were 2,408 shifts, 338 call-ins to the police, 19,054 volunteer hours, and 148,086 kms driven. In 2008, they started checking businesses for open doors and found 731 open doors from 2008 to 2024.
He was happy to report they acquired a few new volunteers last year, but they’re always looking for more. New volunteers receive a manual and begin patrols by going out with an experienced patroller. Meetings are held monthly when patrol schedules are made up, and a liaison officer gives a report.
“I enjoyed it because you’re with different people all the time. You help the community by being extra eyes for the police, and hopefully reduce crime in town,” Ed said.
After putting in 25 years of volunteer service, Ed has certainly done his part in helping to make our town a safer place for everyone. Thank you for your dedicated years of service to our community.