Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said rural crime has decreased every month since the government introduced its rural crime initiative.
In March the province spent $10 million to hire 39 new police officers, 40 civilian support staff and about 10 Crown prosecutors.
The government credits that move for a decrease in rural crime in 2018, where there were 480 fewer homes broken into, 3,500 fewer thefts and 1,200 fewer vehicles stolen.
She could be right.
As you read in our front-page story crime in the County of Barrhead is on the decrease. In fact, it is at a four-year low. And while Barrhead RCMP Sgt. Bob Dodds doesn’t know why this is the case, he does credit the initiative and the crime reduction units (CRU) it created as helping get a number of criminals off the street.
In November, the Barrhead RCMP Detachment, with the help of the Westlock RCMP, Westlock Traffic Services, Whitecourt General Investigation Section, along with the Eastern Alberta and St. Paul CRUs were able to arrest two individuals suspected in a number of robberies, the most notable being one at the Kinuso Mercantile where they stole numerous items including a number of rifles.
In December, Dodds also credits the Eastern CRU with helping Barrhead RCMP arrest several individuals wanted on warrants. Without the help of the CSUs, these arrests likely wouldn’t have happened and these individuals would still be on the streets.
At first glance, it certainly seems like the initiative has been successful.
We hope the government’s latest crime reduction initiative, Project Lock Up announced Feb. 4, is just as or even more effective.
Project Lock Up includes using mapping data to determine the most common areas for break-and-enters and establish more RCMP patrols in those communities.
The project also includes tools given to frequent victims to track stolen items. Using a property-marking device called the Trace Pen, each with its own unique serial number that can be digitally registered, victims can mark their items and increase the likelihood stolen property is eventually returned to them if found by police.
The devices are available through local Citizens on Patrol and Rural Crime Watch groups.
Officer in charge of Crime Reduction Strategies for the RCMP in Alberta, Supt. Peter Tewfik, said the idea of the program is that by targeting those prolific offenders in rural communities police will be able to link some of that property from some of the people who have been robbed multiple times. By doing this the police will be able to use this information to leverage for additional charges and more harsh sentences against these individuals.
Sounds good to us, however as always, the proof is in the pudding, or in this case the crime rate statistics.
