Delta's police chief says the municipality is a little city with big city risks, and it's dealing with those risks that keeps him up at night.
In a speech at a Delta Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday, Neil Dubord listed a number of factors affecting the community, including its role as a transportation hub, major developments on the way that will bring more people and traffic, and the fact the area is in a "red zone," which means there is the potential for major damage in the event of a natural disaster.
"When I talk about what keeps me up at night, this is it," Dubord told the crowd.
He said the department has a 94 per cent satisfaction rate, something that he's never seen in his policing career, but that could go down the drain in a matter of minutes in the event of a major catastrophe.
He said the department's no-call-too-small mandate helps maintain the public's trust in police.
"It allows us to put a small deposit every day in that bank called public confidence," he said, adding
the Corporation of Delta has invested well in its police force, which allows the department to send out officers to every call.
Dealing with smaller issues, like property crime and vehicle break-ins, can help stop them from becoming bigger concerns.
Dubord said the department can do three things to help mitigate some of the big city risks.
"I think we need to be intelligence led and evidenced based," he said. Police across the province have access to PRIME, a crime database, and the department can use that to analyze local crime trends and deploy officers accordingly.
"It's about having the right people at the right place at the right time," he said.
The department needs to continue with its community-based policing model, Dubord said, and continue to strengthen partnerships with businesses, community groups and the public. And that means maintaining the no-call-too-small policy.
Thirdly, he said, the department has a role in keeping transportation moving, adding he can't see any other area of the Lower Mainland that is as important to the transportation network as Delta.
"It's very important that it is our job to keep our roads safe," he said, adding road safety is a large part of future planning for the department.
