Fundy Shores Mayor Denny Cogswell says he is hopeful they will see policing changes in the rural community.

It follows a meeting this week with officials from the municipality, the province, and the New Brunswick RCMP.

Among those in attendance were Assistant Commissioner DeAnna Hill, commanding officer of the New Brunswick RCMP, and Public Safety Minister Kris Austin.

“We got to address all of our concerns that we wanted and me and my council left cautiously optimistic for some change,” Cogswell said in an interview.

Cogswell said there has been an increase in break-ins and thefts throughout the municipality, which spans more than 370 kilometres.

It includes the communities of Chance Harbour, Dipper Harbour, Lepreau, Little Lepreau, Maces Bay, Musquash, New River, Pocologan and Prince of Wales.

This week’s discussion followed a community meeting in early July which saw more than 100 residents gather to hear from the RCMP.

RELATED: Fundy Shores residents share policing concerns with RCMP

Cogswell said his community wants to see a bigger police presence and more public dialogue between residents and the RCMP.

“They didn’t make any strong commitments in writing, of course, but they did commit to some changes within our discussions so I’m hopeful for that,” he said.

The mayor declined to say what those changes might be, saying they did not have a solid timeline in place.

Cogswell said the community will hold the RCMP accountable if they do not see changes or plans in the very near future.

In the meantime, residents are encouraged to report incidents to Mounties, no matter how small they may be.

“I don’t want to make it so that members of the public are doing the police’s job. I think what we’re stressing is all these things are tools, like calling in anything you see suspicious,” said Cogswell.