Bow Island Safe Streets hosts collaborative Open House on March 26 

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Ryan Dahlman

By Nerissa McNaughton
Southern Alberta Newspapers

Bow Island and area residents should mark March 26, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Susan Anderson Library), on their calendar. This is when Safe Streets is hosting an interactive open house. Multiple community organizations in Bow Island are joining forces to host this free, educational event in co-ordination with fraud prevention month. This collaborative effort brings together the local library, the Town of Bow Island, ATB, Forty Mile Regional FCSS, SE Alberta Rural Crime Watch, and the RCMP.

The gathering features a flexible, come-and-go format designed much like a trade show. Attendees can browse various informational tables at their own pace throughout the evening and enjoy a short presentation at 7:30 p.m.

Visitors will find valuable resources focused on scam awareness and fraud prevention. Participants can also sign up for memberships with the Rural Crime Watch association. The primary goal of the evening is to equip residents with the knowledge and tools they need to protect themselves and keep their neighbourhoods safe.

The event is entirely free for the public to attend. Guests can enjoy light snacks and refreshments while they connect with local organizations and gather important safety information.

Chantel Timmons is the Chair of the Bow Island Safe Streets & Community Protection Committee.

“Our committee is focused on safety. We help people realize there is a group out there that they can connect with; a group truly looking out for their well-being,” she says.

Timmons goes on to note about the open house, saying, “It is designed to easily allow residents to ask questions in person, with all presenters in one convenient location for the evening. It is good to hear from many different perspectives. For example, when it comes to online scams, so many visuals are now AI generated making it very difficult to determine what is real.”

Cpl. Adam George, Bow Island RCMP, will also be at the open house.

“It will be a great opportunity to meet with a lot of the town resources and councillors, along with the RCMP. I will be happy to talk to people, hear their concerns in the community, and chat,” he says.

Cpl. George is also hoping to raise awareness of an important program designed to greatly aid in the reduction of rural crime: Community Assisted Police Through Use of Recorded Evidence. Or, as it is more readily known, CAPTURE.

By registering their security cameras with the program, residents can help deter criminal activity and assist law enforcement in solving crimes. The initiative is secure, free, and easy to join.

“Privacy is assured,” says Cpl. George. “The owner of the camera has complete control. All the police view is the location of the camera and the details the registrant put into the program.”

CAPTURE’s recent rollout in Bow Island started about a month ago. There have been a number of signups, and the police force hopes for many more. Be sure to speak with Cpl. George at the open house about CAPTURE and how you can help prevent rural crime.

This open house promises to be an engaging and informative evening for residents to connect, learn, and take proactive steps toward community safety. Don’t miss this chance to make a difference in your community—mark your calendar for March 26.