The Estevan Police Service is tackling two major world issues right now; the idea of mask-wearing, and the recent string of 'ACAB' graffiti that has hit the Estevan area over the last few weeks.

First, Police Chief Paul Ladouceur wanted to respond to the graffiti. The acronym 'ACAB' stands for 'All Cops Are Bad', although the 'B' can also mean another more derogatory term, and was spray-painted in a number of different places in the southeast including Chow Field, Roche Percee, and even some of the schools. Ladouceur knows that the community stands with police more often than not.

"I like to think our community is better than that. I know there is a lot of tension in the air right now globally, and certainly in North America when it comes to policing, but I am very proud to live in this community and very proud to be a chief in this community. These are people's mothers, brothers, sisters that are doing this job."

Ladouceur added that if there is ever an issue with their policing in the city, there are proper avenues to send those complaints in rather than destroying public property. 

"Police have been called names for years, we've got broad shoulders. But when you're destroying people's property, especially in a park that recognizes a distinguished person in our community and history, I think it's appalling and for that reason, if this graffiti continues, we've seen it on some of our schools recently, these people will be charged and there will be zero tolerance for them."

As for the other big issue in the world, the EPS moving forward is planning to wear masks for the foreseeable future. Not only that, but they're also going to be asking that anyone who enters the police station on personal business wear one as well unless they're coming in an emergency.

"It's not just for their (the officer's) protection, it's for your protection as well to ensure everyone's safety. And we're asking that people that attend to our police facility to the front counter, we do have plexiglass and safety measures in place, but if you're planning a trip to the police station, whether it be to get a criminal record check or to report incidents or something of that nature, we're asking that those individuals don masks before attending."

It's no secret that there are people who are against the idea of wearing masks that are very vocal. That said, Ladouceur seems confident that the community isn't going to be too upset as officers put their masks on this time around. In fact, the EPS has given their member access to masks since the start of the pandemic and now this is just a formality to make them mandatory for officers responding to any call.

"Everyone has their own opinion on masks but I would expect to absolutely have zero blowback because this doesn't affect the community in any way, shape or form. I mean, these are our officers that are wearing the mask. They're not community members that we're asking to wear a mask. Quite frankly, as a chief of police, you know if I'm going to make decisions based on popularity or public opinion versus safety and security, then I shouldn't be in this role."