Mayor Ken Popove with RCMP Insp. Darren Pankratz (right).

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Chilliwack RCMP

Chilliwack RCMP to unveil safety initiative starting Friday: Mayor Popove

Jun 5, 2025 | 12:23 PM

UPDATE 5:30 P.M. FRIDAY: Chilliwack RCMP have now confirmed that they have launched Project S.A.F.E., or “Strategic Action for Focused Engagement.” Police say the focused initiative involves the RCMP, Chilliwack bylaw, and Griffin Security.

“While we work together every day, this initiative brings enhanced visibility and targeted engagement to areas that need it most,” Chilliwack RCMP wrote on Facebook Friday at 1:20 p.m. They did not release a statement to local news media.

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CHILLIWACK — Members of the Chilliwack RCMP detachment will be rolling out a safety initiative this week that will target the downtown area and surrounding areas, Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove announced Thursday morning.

Mayor Popove told 89.5 JR Country Morning host Glen Slingerland that the initiative, known as Project SAFE (Strategic Action for Focused Engagement), will involve RCMP members working hand in hand with Griffin Security and bylaw personnel from the City of Chilliwack in a new strategy.

“It’s gonna pinpoint areas of our downtown and surrounding areas and show a whole lot more engagement. It’s not perception, it’s real,” Mayor Popove said in his weekly “Ask the Mayor” segment. “They are going to be there. It’s gonna be a strategy that’s gonna be ongoing. It’s not just a blitz like we have done.”

Popove concedes police have spent time in the past around the wellness centre and bottle depot on Trethewey Avenue. This time, he says, there’s going to be more strategic engagement.

“I admit it, we have done some targeted blitzes, like, around the wellness centre and bottle depot and what not,” he said. “This is going to be a strategy that’s gonna be laid out. It’s going to start tomorrow. It’s an initiative that will certainly keep our community safe.”

Chilliwack residents can expect to see a lot more visibility among uniformed officers in the downtown areas in the coming weeks and months.

“The RCMP are always looking at different ways of engagement, and this is one way they’re gonna do it,” Popove said. “You will see targeted areas, like I say, in our downtown core and surrounding areas as well. It’s something that’s needed, you know, the open drug use, and obviously there are vulnerable folks that are on the streets. We’ll be having a little chat with them and see if we can get some outreach workers to them. It’s a good plan. I think it’s gonna unfold and really be something that the community’s gonna embrace. Good on the RCMP for doing that. A big thank you to the RCMP for coming up with this strategy.”