Police to hold community conversations with residents

By Lethbridge Herald on March 14, 2023.

Lethbridge Police Service chief Shahin Mehdizadeh speaks to reporters about the upcoming Community Conversation session Tuesday at the Lethbridge Police station. Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The Lethbridge Police Service will be hosting a series of Community Conversations to share information with citizens, and answer their questions regarding the respective area of the city. 

During the sessions, Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh and members of the LPS executive will share information about the police service, its annual and strategic plans as well as information about crime occurrences and trends in each area of the city.  

In partnership with both school divisions, which provided the venues for the meetings, they will be holding their meetings in four different schools, located in the respective four areas of the city. The sessions will be divided into Downtown, North, South and West areas. 

“We wanted to make sure we are more geographic focused when we’re delivering these discussions as possible, so people know what’s going on in there in their neighbourhood,” said Mehdizadeh Tuesday. 

He said he is looking forward to the conversations which have been in the works for a while. 

“The intent of these community discussions are to engage with our citizens and continue to collaborate and foster an open dialogue with the people we serve, which is the foundation of the community based policing,” said Mehdizadeh. 

He said the format will include a brief presentation by LPS in relation to the specific area they are in with an open mic session to follow where members of the community are encouraged to ask questions, make comments, and share their expectations and experiences with LPS. 

“So we can ensure to work on those issues and also better prepares us to plan ahead for our future annual plans afterward,” said Mehdizadeh. 

He said all conversations are open to the public and residents are encouraged to attend if they have the time to do so. There is no limit to how many they are able to attend, and they are not restricted to the area where they reside. 

The Community Conversation will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. as follows: 

• Downtown area on Mar. 21, at Fleetwood Bawden School, 1222 9 Ave. S.

• North area on April 20 at St. Teresa of Calcutta School, 235 Mildred Dobbs Blvd North.

• South area on Sept. 19 at Lakeview Elementary School, 1129 Henderson Lake Blvd South,

• West area on Nov. 7 at St. Patrick’s Fine Arts Elementary School, 80 Rivergreen Road West.

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