Crime drives 30 years of volunteer work to keep Vernon safe

Lyle Duffield had enough to go to work in downtown Vernon on Saturday morning, so the windows of his business were broken. Or his signature was ripped off.

Or, in one case, a thief could sneak under the door into his business, stay away from strategically placed alarm censors, and open his back door so he could steal about $30,000 in electronics and stereo equipment. I cut it off with a chainsaw.

It wasn’t just Duffield, who in 1993 owned what was then called Kelly’s Electronics on 30th Street.

“I think Freddy (Freddy’s records and tapes across the street) had three windows broken in three weeks,” says Duffield, 74, fully retired. “People were upset about the vandalism happening. They talked about vigilantes.”

However, cooler heads take precedence. Duffield and other downtown business owners met with the RCMP to form the Citizens of Patrol, the “extra eyes and ears” of the police that are still active today.

The Vernon City Council formally recognized Duffield on November 28 for his 30 years of outstanding and dedicated service to the community as an RCMP volunteer.

Mayor Victor said, “You have played an important role in helping our local police and community safety programs in their daily efforts to keep our community safer and make Vernon one of the great places we live. We are grateful for the generosity of his time and talent,” said Cumming.

Duffield was one of the original members of the first RCMP volunteer training program involving citizens on patrol.

“The amount of time, energy and effort he has volunteered to support police and public safety programs over the last 30 years is truly amazing, and his dedication and dedication to the safety and improvement of our community is truly remarkable. I want to thank you for your dedication. Shona Baha.

Duffield still believes in citizen patrol and volunteerism.

“I still enjoy it,” he said. “I do whatever is asked of me. Sometimes I go three times a month, sometimes I go only once a month, but I try to go out at least once a month.”

Duffield has to make room in his house for his recent volunteer accolades.

In 2013, he was named Rotary Club Volunteer of the Year. Duffield is also a recipient of the Gordon Ryder Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is given to deserving volunteers for their overall contribution to creating safer communities, and Jim He received the Wotwich Memorial Award.Exemplary effort to make the Vernon RCMP Volunteer Program the best in his BC

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