Community policing is on the radar in Enderby but financial considerations must be resolved first.

Council confirmed Monday that it is interested in seeing the Safe Communities Unit expand to Enderby.

“It empowers people to look after themselves,” said Mayor Sue Phillips.

The unit includes a number of initiatives such as Speed Watch, safety audits, Citizens on Patrol and the summer safety patrol.

But the main goal is to increase awareness among residents and businesses about what they can do to reduce the level of crime.

However, establishing the unit comes with a price.

Based on other smaller North Okanagan municipalities participating, the cost for Enderby would be $15,000 a year for seven hours of service a week.

“We will buy into it if other communities buy in, such as Spallumcheen or Lumby,” said Phillips.

Currently, the Safe Communities Unit exists in Vernon and the North Okanagan’s five electoral areas. It is not present in Enderby, Armstrong, Spallumcheen, Lumby or Coldstream.

Terry Pakenham, Safe Communities Unit manager, hopes to create a full-time position for the smaller municipalities.

“Every community is facing the same (crime) issues, it’s just at different levels,” he said.

“This would create an opportunity for consistent program delivery throughout the North Okanagan and it would also be of great assistance for the RCMP.”

The program cost for all five communities would be $75,000, with each municipality contributing $15,000 a year.

“We want to try and minimize the cost for each community and still provide the service,” said Pakenham.

Phillips isn’t convinced that Enderby could go it alone financially.

“If there are not two other communities, I’m not sure if that ($14,000) is what the cost would be,” she said.

The concept of the Safe Communities Unit in Enderby was recently raised by Citizens Against Narcotic Drug Operations, which has been trying to tackle criminal activity.

“CANDO really brought it to the fore,” said Coun. Dee Wejr, who supports looking at community policing further.

“If we can do it at a reasonable cost, why wouldn’t we do it?”