Sure. Thank you for that.
When we first started this program, we had constables from the first nation indigenous policing program and also, combined with that, the community tripartite agreement, and it wasn't working for our community. People would say that we were just not getting the justice we needed in the community. People were very dissatisfied with the service we were getting.
The relationship had fallen apart, and it wasn't just on behalf of the police. It was us as well. We were responsible as well. The relationship had eroded to a point where we had a satellite office in our community and they weren't even there anymore. We barely saw them. The officers would always get pulled away to the larger city, leaving us underpoliced.
When we developed the program, we went about starting to rebuild that relationship, because we understood that while the community safety officers have a job to do, they cover a certain area, a certain jurisdiction. They don't do enforcement. We understood that it is the RCMP's job, and it will always be the RCMP's job.
We had to rebuild that relationship, and I'm pleased to say that today that relationship is working quite well.
The safety officer program now is being replicated throughout the territory. There are other communities that want this program, and they're tailoring it to their own communities. It's amazing how well it's working in some of these communities. We get calls from New Zealand, Germany and New York City—I've been contacted by Black Lives Matter—and all over the place.
It's been absolutely amazing, but I think communities.... You know, for us, it was about taking responsibility for our own safety issues and taking responsibility for the things that were happening in our community. We knew that the RCMP couldn't be everywhere. They just can't do it all. We went to work and built a program where, if someone is released on parole, they have an obligation to contact our CSOs, first and foremost, and they contact our justice department. Then, for that individual, once they're released into our community, we are aware of them. We know where they are and we know what is going on with that individual, and they develop a plan for that person.
I really think that this program can work in other communities, but it needs to be supported. It really needs to be supported.