Suspicious activity? Call police

BY WENDY ELLIOTT

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com

Police are asking anyone in the New Minas area to call police if they see any suspicious activity.

RCMP Cst. Les Kakonyi said last week while there have been a couple of calls, the public should not hesitate to pick up the phone.

He noted there’s a misconception in the community, which is about 30 years old, that police calls can be heard on scanners.

Today, Kakonyi noted, the calls aren’t broadcast, but downloaded onto in-cruiser computers. “Obviously, it’s quicker if people don’t wait ‘til the next morning. Then members can get there, because we have 24-hour coverage.”

He said police would rather break up several loiterers than miss genuinely suspicious activity. “We’ve got to put a stop to this,” he said, referring to the spate of deliberately set fires in the area. “So far no one’s been hurt.”

Kakonyi said volunteer firefighters are out taking risks “and we really need the cooperation of the public. We’ll follow up every lead and we are moving forward on this case, but a phone call at the right time could allow us to catch up with these individuals.”

During the heightened alert, he noted, people can also phone CrimeStoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).