On Thursday, July 27th I had the wonderful opportunity to join the residents of Geneva Crescent for a Neighbourhood Block Party. What a resounding success the evening was. The weather was perfect, the company was great and there was food galore; hamburgers, hot dogs, salads and desserts. The Block Party was sponsored by the Task Force on Vandalism and Youth Issues in partnership with the City of St. Albert and the RCMP.

The food was donated in part by Walmart, Save On Foods and the RCMP. The salads and wonderful desserts were whipped up by the residents of Geneva Crescent.

The organizers from Geneva Crescent did an excellent job at coordinating the event. There were activities set up for the children and a scavenger hunt that had “Genevians” searching for the neighbour who had lived on their street the longest (the answer to that one being a dear lady who has lived there since 1961), who was the newest neighbour?, Who had the most pets?, Who had four kids?, When was the Grosvenor Pool built? It was a great icebreaker to get folks who had lived in close proximity to each other for years, to actually walk up and meet the people who lived around the corner from them. Neighbours from the youngest to our more senior demographic took part in the festivities.

Crime Prevention Groups such as Neighbourhood Watch, Citizens Patrol and the Serial Number Registry were represented as well as myself from the Community Policing Unit and Detachment Commander S/Sgt Dan Konowalchuk. We were on hand to offer advice and answer questions the residents of the community had with regards to Crime Prevention Groups and strategies to minimize the risk of being victimized by theft and vandalism.

The exciting part of the whole evening was amongst the good food, laughter and conversations, the foundations of friendships were started with people sharing a common goal, to live in a safe home, a safe neighbourhood, a safe community. By knowing your neighbour by name, by knowing who the parents are of the little darlings that reside in the neighbourhood makes a difference in how we view our neighbourhood. In CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) this very foundation is a valuable tool in our kit to deter and reduce crime. Territoriality, looking out past our front door, our driveway, our fence and watching out for our neighbours. For example, as a neighbour on Geneva Crescent, will they call the police if they see something suspicious happening at their neighbours house? Maybe they now know their neighbours are out of town this weekend and will be suspicious of that van backed up to the garage loading up the TV, the Play Station, the stereo system. Because they know what belongs on their street and what doesn’t. They know what they are looking at is suspicious and will pick up their phone and contact the police.

In closing, I must say a big thank you to the residents of Geneva Crescent for hosting such a great event.and to the members of the Task Force on Vanadlism for facilitating this event. Well done! You have set the bar high for future block parties!