Brandon police add vehicle to crime-fighting arsenal

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/12/2019 (2150 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — Brandon police unveiled their newest crime-fighting tool Thursday.

“Today is certainly an early Christmas for Brandon Police Service (BPS), as we announce the arrival of our armoured rescue vehicle (ARV),” BPS Chief Wayne Balcaen said during the ARV’s debut at Assiniboine Community College. “But it is truly a Christmas gift for all the citizens and all of our justice service partners.”

The tactical vehicle, which stands almost three metres tall and carries as many as 10 people, is available to respond to high-risk incidents in Brandon and surrounding communities in southwestern Manitoba. Officers have been trained on special procedures related to the ARV. The vehicle is also available to other police agencies in the region should they be faced with a high-risk incident.

The unit was built for BPS by Ontario-based Terradyne Armored Vehicles Inc., at a cost of approximately $400,000 — funded through the province’s Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund, Balcaen said.

“(The funding for) this came out of the hands of criminals to help law enforcement and does not cost the taxpayers to fund this piece of safety equipment,” the chief said.

Manitoba Justice Minister Cliff Cullen said the vehicle will be an “incredible asset” in dangerous situations and “bolster officer and public safety” throughout the region.

“We’ve seen this vehicle in use in the City of Winnipeg, and clearly it gives police officers another tool to look at these high-risk situations… It’s going to be used to protect police officers, and in some situations protect civilians, as well,” Cullen said. “It’s really like an insurance policy — you buy an insurance policy and you hope you never need it. But, sooner or later, you are going to have to call on that insurance policy. Sooner or later, police officers will use this tool to their advantage.”

In 2018, the BPS emergency response team was deployed 14 times, Balcaen said. In 2019 to date, it has been deployed six times. Police have been faced with increases in calls for service, violent crime and weapon-related incidents in the last several years, Balcaen said.

“With the increase in crime, the number of times that we have been deployed to situations where firearms are involved or there was high risk — that’s the reason why we need this,” the chief said. “It’s really about the safety of our officers and our citizens.”

— Brandon Sun