TORONTO -- RCMP officers in B.C. have gone viral for their Christmas-themed, crime prevention Facebook video, which features one of them dressed up as Dr. Seuss鈥� classic Grinch character.
, which features Cindy Lou and the titular character from 鈥淗ow the Grinch Stole Christmas!鈥� has garnered more than 214,000 views since being re-posted on Dec. 2. The original video was .
Using the Grinch鈥檚 antics, the video touches many themes, including impaired driving, burglary, vehicle thefts, and protecting children from strangers online.
The playful caption for the short film states that the officers took a 鈥渄ash of teamwork, a splash of crime prevention messaging, spice(d) it up with some humour, (and) add(ed) a tablespoon of Christmas cheer.鈥�
RCMP detachment superintendent Jennifer Hyland told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview, 鈥渨e鈥檝e never seen anything in policing get shared like that.鈥�
When she began leading the RCMP detachment in 2017, she really wanted to use social media to reach her community.
鈥淭he safety messages on (computer) use and safety are only as valuable as how many kids you can reach,鈥� she said.
The Facebook post also includes a lengthy Dr. Seuss-style story, involving the Grinch鈥檚 鈥渟inister plot鈥� to stop Christmas. And although the delivery is playful, the RCMP has a serious message behind it.
For example, the Grinch attempts to send inappropriate private messages to Cindy Lou, but she blocks him and tells an adult.
The thwarted Grinch then heads to a bar with his pet, Max the dog, where he tells himself: 鈥淚鈥檒l steal and I鈥檒l rob, and I鈥檒l make such a fuss, breaking into Who people鈥檚 homes and take Who people鈥檚 stuff.鈥�
Eventually, the video ends with the Grinch turning away from his 鈥淕rinch-y鈥� ways.
鈥淓ven Grinches can change, and be kind and good hearted,鈥� the video states. Hyland pointed out that too many people in her community are victims of preventable crimes such as impaired driving, so she wanted to make a creative safety video that didn鈥檛 shy away from tough issues.
Two years ago, she decided to bring in a larger team to help with larger outreach projects and this included civilian support staffer Clint Van Blanken, who鈥檇 go on to help produce the Grinch video.
He said the genuine enthusiasm from the top brass 鈥渏ust kind of organically flowed through the detachment.鈥�
Hyland said that officers were tripping over themselves to appear or be a part of the video concept. Ultimately, Insp. Aaron Paradis won the role of the Grinch with dozens of RCMP detachment officers and employees popping up in the video.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a hard sell, it鈥檚 more likely explaining (to officers left out) why we had to limit the number of people involved,鈥� Hyland said. Van Blanken said, 鈥渢he response from both the (RCMP) membership and the community has been overwhelming positive.鈥�
Dozens of comments 鈥� including some as far as New Zealand -- have praised the fun way the officers used the Grinch to talk about several important issues.
鈥淢y inner child is delighted by this Christmas message! Thank you all for this bit of fun,鈥� one person wrote.
