Frequently Asked Questions
The CAA School Safety Patrol® program works to secure safer school zones in Manitoba
If your school is within the City of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Police Service will come to your school to train your CAA School Safety Patrols. You should already have a constable assigned to your school. If you aren’t sure who your constable is, or if you are a new school with a new program, contact our School Patrol Coordinator and they will get you in touch with the appropriate officer.
If your school is in the Brandon School Division, the Brandon Police Service will come to your school to train your CAA School Safety Patrols. If the BPS constable hasn’t reached you yet, please contact our School Patrol Coordinator and they will put you in contact.
If your school is in a rural area, RM or a band-operated reserve, the local RCMP detachment is your best resource for training. Local fire detachments or police are also good to contact. If you’d like to organize training for your school, please contact our School Patrol Coordinator and they will assist you in finding a resource.
Please note: It is important that CAA School Safety Patrols have a voice of authority OR a trainer with traffic safety expertise OR a figure of authority, ideally with education or traffic safety experience training them. When questions or concerns arise, the best person to contact is the trainer, as their knowledge and experience can help suggest a solution.
The number of vests and flags required is different for every school. As a general rule of thumb, ensure you have enough vests to outfit the amount of patrols on ACTIVE duty at any give time (i.e. on the street), plus a few extras as spares. When ordering, ensure to subtract the number of current vests on hand from the overall total required.
We generally discourage the “one vest for every Patrol” system, as sharing supplies is part of learning responsibility: a key objective of the program. However, we do appreciate the many different systems at each school. Please be patient with us as we try to understand the system you have chosen to implement, so we can assess your supply needs.
If properly stored, CAA School Safety Patrol vests should last five years and flags should last three.
Vests should be kept on hangers or hooks and flags should be rolled up and properly stored to prevent wear and tear to the material.
Supervisors should have enough vests and flags for the number of patrols on duty each day plus a few extras. There is no need for each student to have their own vest and flag.
Please remember that ALL supplies are provided FREE of charge to almost 7,500 CAA School Safety Patrols in the province by CAA Manitoba, with funding from Manitoba Public Insurance. Please be respectful of this and do not order beyond your needs.
We are happy to now offer rain jackets to School Safety Patrol programs in Manitoba. You are able to order a maximum of two rain jackets each year.
While wearing the rain jacket, no vest is needed. These adhere to the CSA Standards on their own.
We order supplies based on the numbers submitted to us by the assigned deadline date. Any orders received after that date are not guaranteed, as they will be relying on surplus.
All orders are packaged during the summer break with the goal of delivering your supplies prior to the beginning of the school year.
Of course, we understand that things may change with throughout the year. Additional Patrols may join the team and uniforms and equipment may become worn out or damaged. Any orders received after the deadline, however, may be subject to a delay in delivery.
Your order will be filled during the summer break. Orders throughout the year are filled on the 15th of each month.
If your school is in:
- Winnipeg School Division
- Seven Oaks School Division
- Pembina Trails School Division
- Louis Riel School Division
- River East Transcona School Division
- St. James – Assiniboia School Division
- Brandon School Division
Your order will be sent to your divisional office. From there, they will distribute the packages to your school.
Otherwise, your order will be sent via Canada Post or it will be dropped off by courier at no-charge to you.
We are working to secure more incentives for patrols in rural areas and in Brandon. If you have any ideas, please send to schoolpatrol@caamanitoba.com.
As Manitobans, we know that winters can be cold and we can experience some very extreme temperatures. While it's up to the schools discretion, we generally recommend keeping Patrols inside when it's -27 degrees Celcius with the windchill, or colder.