The Community Safety Officer (CSO) position in Winkler is vacant as the city searches for a new staff member.

Winkler Mayor Martin Harder explains the former CSO left earlier this year. In the mean time, a new by-law enforcement officer has been hired. "The new officer doesn't have the training required for a Community Safety Officer, so for the summer at least we wanted to get our by-laws sorted out."

Daniel Unruh started in the position April 8. While the position could turn into a CSO role, "right now the critical thing was to make sure we had a new by-law enforcement officer," Harder says.

He adds Unruh has been briefed on the opportunity to take on the CSO mantle in the future. "The employee we hired is very suitable for either," Harder says, adding Unruh has also had police training.

The CSO program was introduced in 2017 as a means of supporting police by dealing with less serious crime and acting as a liaison with the community.