Turner Valley’s Patrol Services are hoping an advanced reporting system will improve residents’ comfort level when it comes to making complaints.
The Town implemented an online reporting system last week allowing residents to make a complaint to Turner Valley Patrol Services electronically, said patrol supervisor Trever Bowman.
Complainants who access the system on the Town website are guided through a step-by-step complaint form, he said.
“It allows the residents an easier venue to get in touch with us,” he said. “It’s just another service for the taxpayers and residents.”
Bowman said the peace officer on duty receives the complaint in their vehicle or on their laptop within seconds of it being sent.
“When the officer is assigned the file they will call the complainant to get more information,” he said. “We want to get as much information as we can before we go speak to somebody.”
Bowman said residents who might not otherwise call in a complaint may be more willing to do so through the online system.
“A lot of people are hesitant to call for a variety of reasons,” he said. “Some people are very uncomfortable about calling and some people are uncomfortable talking to us.”
Although the new program allows for some anonymity, it does require each complainant to fill out their personal information to confirm the validity of the complaint and provide the peace officers with their contact information, said Bowman.
He said Patrol Services has been looking at adding online reporting for several months, yet they wanted to see what other communities thought of the program first.
“We contacted some to see if they are having problems with it and they had a positive response,” he said.
In the first four days of operation, the Town received one online complaint. Bowman said he expects the number to increase in the coming weeks as more people become aware of the service.
“It’s public education,” he said. “Not a lot of people know about it yet.”
Once word gets out, Bowman said more residents will likely file complaints online and he expects to see an overall increase in complaints.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a dramatic change but I think we will definitely get an increase,” he said.
To make a complaint on the online reporting system see www.turnervalley.ca
