Crime is on the rise in the City of Cold Lake, and the local RCMP detachment is on the case.
On Tuesday, Nov. 8, S/Sgt. Jeremie Landry explained to City of Cold Lake councillors how crime has changed since last October, and what the Cold Lake detachment is doing about it.
“As of Oct. 31, 2016, we had 5,609 files for the City of Cold Lake,” said Landry. “We have actually seen an increase from 2015 to 2016 of a little over 400 files.”
Around this time last year, the detachment had 4,634 files, which was a decrease from the 6,047 in 2014.
“Where we are seeing some significant increases is in the suspicious person/vehicle/property category,” explained Landry, adding this category alone has seen an increase of 291 per cent, and would relate to a suspicious vehicle or person in a neighbourhood that was concerning residents.
“In general, our person crime categories, that includes all person crime offences, are up by 20 per cent in the city,” said Landry.
Traffic violations are also up, by nine per cent.
In order to crack down on traffic violations, the RCMP, working with community peace officers, conducted a traffic initiative. In the span of three day, 84 tickets were issued. A total of eight warrants for arrest were also conducted, and five criminal code charges were laid.
However, decreases have been seen in mischief calls, which have dropped by 23 per cent. False alarms have also gone down, with 911 calls dropping by 16 per cent.
In September, the detachment had 549 files, and saw a decrease in the month of October after a series of arrests made.
“After focusing on our crime reduction strategy and focusing on some of our provincial offenders, which are now incarcerated, our file count dropped by 18 per cent in October,” explained Landry.
In terms of property crime, the detachment saw 1,161 cases, which is up by eight and a half per cent when compared to 2015.
Most of the increase in this category is in break and enters, theft of motor vehicle, theft over $5,000, and theft under $5,000.
Over the past few months, the RCMP has conducted various search warrants in hopes of combating property crime within the city. On Aug. 24, officers executed a search warrant on a property within the MD of Bonnyville, where a significant amount of stolen property was recovered.
“As a result of that search warrant, we arrested two individuals who were facing multiple charges of different property crimes, and who were heavily involved in property crimes in our area,” Landry said.
Around mid-September, eight individuals were arrested through multiple search warrants. These individuals were also heavily involved in property crimes and violent crimes.
“On Tuesday, Oct. 11, Cold Lake RCMP conducted a search warrant on a Cold Lake south residence, and as a result… a total of six charges were laid for trafficking illicit substances, as well as possession of property obtained by crime, and possession of prohibited weapons,” Landry explained.
This search resulted in the seizure of 170 grams of cocaine and crack cocaine, and almost $1,500 in cash, and prohibited weapons.
“I am very proud to announce to you all that our trafficking charges are up by 211 per cent, in 2015 we had 17 individuals charged with trafficking and narcotics, and so far in 2016 we have charged 53,” Landry said.
In total, drug enforcement is up by 36 per cent over last year, which includes all categories of violations under the controlled drugs and substances act.
On Oct. 14, local RCMP were called by a city peace officer who had conducted a traffic stop, and believed there was marijuana in the vehicle.
“RCMP members attended, and we seized a total of 3.5 kilograms of cannabis and 15 grams of hash oil,” said Landry. “To assign a dollar figure to this, we seized approximately $71,000 in illicit drugs that didn't make it to the streets.”
A 56-year-old Cherry Grove male was charged in this incident.
Three days later, the RCMP conducted another search warrant and seized a significant amount of cocaine, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine, estimated to cost a total of $14,000.
He continued, “I am very pleased with the drug enforcement specifically that we have been doing within the city… We are ensuring that the message is delivered that if you are dealing drugs within the City of Cold Lake, we will catch you, we will charge you, and you will be before the courts.”
Although disturbing the peace violations are on the decline, assault violations are up by 20 per cent this year, something Landry said is concerning.
“Our robberies are up by 67 per cent,” said Landry, adding although this seems alarming, the increase is not considerably high.
In 2015, Cold Lake fell victim to a total of six robberies, with 10 robberies committed this year.
So far in 2016, the detachment has had 1,125 prisoners, an over five per cent increase over last year.
Heading into the colder months, the detachment will be looking into patrolling the trails on the snowmobiles they recently obtained.
“We are looking at, at least six enhanced patrols throughout the winter,” he said.
The detachment is also looking into bringing a K9 unit to the city. When needed, it would be only a couple minutes away compared to the over an hour it currently takes to bring in the K9 unit out of St. Paul.
