Battlefords Mounties seeing success with covert surveillance vehicles

Covert surveillance vehicles provided by SGI have been a boon to Mounties in the Battlefords.

According to the RCMP, the Battlefords Detachment partnered with SGI after identifying a need for more surveillance vehicles. The partnership saw the Crown insurer provide two vehicles to the Mounties in May of 2023, which the RCMP said are used “in the targeting of and disruption of serious crimes.”

The program has been a successful one for the Battlefords RCMP Gang Task Force, the Mounties said.

Between May and December of 2023, the two covert surveillance vehicles were involved in recovering 15 stolen vehicles with a total value of $457,000. The vehicles have also been involved in the seizure of 15 firearms, 22 other weapons, drugs valued at more than $36,500, and more than $15,000 in cash, which police said was the proceeds of crime.

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“This partnership and vehicles have given our members additional means to target serious offences and stolen vehicles in our community,” Inspector Jesse Gilbert, officer in charge of the Battlefords RCMP Detachment, said in a statement.

“We look forward to continuing this relationship and future success of the program.”

To help prevent opportunistic auto thefts in the cold weather, the Battlefords RCMP reminded residents to ensure vehicles are either locked or attended whenever they’re left running.