Have a question for Blaine police?

Department to host open house on November 7

By Stefanie Donahue

The public can get an inside look at the Blaine Police Department next week.

An open house is scheduled for 5–8 p.m. on Wednesday, November 7 at the department, located at 322 H Street. Police personnel will be on the scene to offer tours, answer questions and serve up a barbeque dinner.

“It’s all a part of the department’s community policing effort,” said police chief Allen Schubert. “We care about the [citizens’] needs and what their concerns are.”

Schubert took the helm as chief of the Blaine Police Department in August. At the time he was hired, he said he aspired to be collaborative, transparent and approachable to residents living in Blaine.

“A true community is one in which every Blaine citizen feels vested – that in some way their presence is contributing positively to the city’s overall welfare,” he said to Blaine City Council during a presentation in August. “That kind of relationship building doesn’t happen overnight. That is why I am expected to be a tireless, committed professional who is always looking forward and never complacent with the status quo.”

During the open house, residents are encouraged to share questions and concerns with police personnel as well as other first responders and various social service agencies. Schubert said representatives with the Whatcom Community Emergency Response Team, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services, North Whatcom Fire and Rescue, Auxiliary Communications Services and the Healthy Youth Coalition are planning to attend.

Tours of the newly-renovated department will also be offered to the public.

Earlier this year, former interim police chief Michael Knapp was authorized to spend $30,000 to add new offices, improve the records retention system and make upgrades to the communications system, among other improvements.

For kids, police personnel will hand out toy badges, handcuffs and whistles and will raffle away toy police helmets, a megaphone and sirens as well as a Lego kit, Schubert said. Kids can also have their photos taken in various emergency response vehicles.

The open house will be casual, Schubert emphasized. Dinner will include barbeque hot dogs and hamburgers. Members of the public are also invited to bring a dish of their own to share.

To learn more, or to participate in the event as a representative of a social service or neighborhood group, contact the Blaine Police Department at 360/332-6769.