Public Information Officer
The Abbotsford Police Department (APD) is an open and transparent organization. It is fully committed to keeping you informed on topics of public interest and how your police department is working to keep you safe. Through its Public Information Officer (PIO) the APD communicates to the public in a variety of ways. In addition to the APD website, the department communicates through media (print, radio and television), the Annual Community Report, the Community Beat Newsletter, and Community Information Forums. A large part of the PIO’s responsibility is to respond to the thousands of media enquiries the department receives every year. The APD believes in a proactive media approach and cooperates fully with all reasonable and lawful requests. The department recognizes the media plays an integral role in keeping the public informed and as safe as possible. In addition to providing information with respect to ongoing investigations the media can be helpful in finding missing persons, identifying/locating suspects, and disseminating public warnings issued by police regarding a particular risk. The APD responds to several phone calls and e-mails from the media everyday and issues over 100 press releases every year.
Constable Ian MacDonald
Annual Report
The APD embraces accountability as one of its organizational values and as such has been issuing community reports for several years now. This report provides an overview of the activities of the APD on an annual basis. The report is completed in July or August to allow for completed statistical information to be included. Last year the 2007 Community Report was delivered to every household in Abbotsford and an electronic version was posted on the APD website. The report includes information on topics such as crimes statistics and trends, budget information, human resource updates and new programs/initiatives undertaken by the department.
Community Beat Newspaper
New in 2007 and produced by the APD Community Police Office this monthly newsletter features crime and safety related stories and provides useful crime prevention tips. The newsletter is produced in hardcopy and posted electronically on the APD website. You can subscribe to any of the regular newsletters by clicking on the Newsletter link in the sidebar of these website pages.
Community Forums/Meetings
The department continuously monitors crime-related activity in the community and listens closely to the concerns of residents. Every year the APD participates in numerous meetings with various groups regarding crime and public safety issues. These information sessions will continue as the need for them is identified.
