A number of Niverville residents gathered Wednesday night to discuss a response to an increase in crimes such as break-ins and thefts. The meeting was organized by resident Barry Piasta after rash of incidents including one early Tuesday morning where a homeowner was struck with a machete as he went to his detached garage to check on suspicious activity. Speakers advised people on measures to protect their property and deter break-ins.

Resident Rebecca Halonga appreciated the chance to get more information.

"I think it was good. Everyone is just scared and they're worried. There haven't been any conclusions. As someone who just moved here not long ago, it's hard to come to terms with what happened last night and a couple of nights ago. I've never been through a robbery or a theft before so it's unnerving. I will be turning the lights on, something we usually do. We changed our locks, we changed our garage door, we won't be leaving the car running without locking it and stuff like that."

Piasta says he is pleased with the turnout at the meeting, which he organized on short notice.

"We had a great turnout. We filled every seat and it was standing room only so that way it was very successful. And, just from talking to people, they've learned a lot from it."

Niverville town councillor Nathan Dueck says the town is considering three or four options to reduce crime.

"There's a census that's going to be confirmed as of February 8th to let us know what our actual population is. From there, the program will have some recommendations from a couple of different places as to what we need to do, what we should do and, to take it further, maybe what might be a better idea to do, beyond those recommendations, based on customizing something specifically for Niverville."

Dueck notes the possible plans include such things as installing cameras at various points in town to monitor what's going on.

Population levels affect the cost and size of RCMP services so Dueck says they need to know if they have reached the next threshold of 5,000 people before making any final decisions on policing.

Read more:

Niverville Homeowner Attacked With Machete

Meeting Called On Public Safety In Niverville