Dispatch for conservation officers operational

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This article was published 30/11/2023 (928 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon-based 24-hour centralized dispatch service for Manitoba conservation officers has been up and running for the past month, the minister of economic development, investment, trade and natural resources announced yesterday.

The dispatch service, which is provided through the Brandon Public Safety Communication Centre, puts the province’s conservation officers in touch with police and first responders. While the service was originally announced in June by the previous government, confirmation that the service was operating came from the minister, Jamie Moses.

“We want to make sure that we’re always aware that conservation officers are just a radio call away from assistance,” Moses told reporters at a media conference Wednesday morning at the Brandon Public Safety Communication Centre.

The centre also provides emergency dispatch services for seven police agencies and 192 fire departments throughout the province, as well as to Manitoba-based enforcement officers of the Canadian Wildlife Service.

The director of emergency communications at the centre, Robert Stewart, said the service for conservation officers “went live” on Oct. 26, but the centre is marking the occasion a month later after working out the details.

He said staff has had to learn the shift patterns of conservation officers, how to track them if they need to get somewhere on a helicopter and how to facilitate communication when some parts of the province aren’t covered by radio.

“We’ve come up with a lot of solutions and a lot of extra ways that we can keep them safe and that we can stay in contact,” Stewart said.

The centre has hired four staff members to facilitate the service and has one staff member dedicated to the conservation officer component.

The funding for the positions came from the $1.2-million contract the city signed with the province earlier this year. At the time, officials said that without a central communication centre, all officers could do was phone the RCMP. Now, a dedicated service allows them to have constant radio contact with dispatchers.

“We know that this centralized dispatch … is going to ensure not only safety for officers, but also a little reassurance for their families, so that they will make sure that they have comfort in mind that they’re more likely to reach home safely at the end of the day,” Moses said at the Wednesday news conference.

The contract is for three years, with an option for a two-year extension.

Stewart said that when he announced to staff that they were going to be taking on a conservation officer dispatch service, they were excited to have the opportunity to contribute to the safety of the officers.

“It’s well known that public safety communicators, the 911 call takers and dispatchers that are upstairs look out for the public … but one of the things that a lot of people take for granted is that public safety communicators have just as much concern over the safety of the responders in the dispatch out to events,” Stewart said.

Having officers connected to a dispatcher is important, as their work can put them in situations where firearms are involved, he added.

“Because of the dangerous nature of law enforcement in general, not having a dispatcher, not having that communications background, at best, it distracts the officer while they’re doing their job. And at worst, it could lead to some problems, some safety problems for those officers.”

According to statistics provided by the province, there are 10 conservation officers in the Brandon compliance area (which includes Brandon, Carberry, Neepawa, Virden, Shoal Lake, and Boissevain) and 13 officers in the Parkland compliance area (which includes Swan River, Roblin, Dauphin, and Winnipegosis).

This year in the Brandon compliance area, conservation officers laid 213 charges and issued 81 warnings. In the Parkland compliance area, officers laid 231 charges and issued 71 warnings.

While the service is for officers to keep in constant radio contact with dispatchers, the public can still call in to the Conservation Officer Service’s Turn In Poachers (TIP) line to report poachers and human-wildlife interactions. The TIP line is toll-free at 1-800-782-0076.

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