The Cold Lake RCMP have seen a dip in local crime.
When compared to the previous two years, 2018 saw a drop in the total number of calls for service.
Over the course of the fiscal year, the local detachment responded to 4,912 files within their jurisdiction, equating to approximately 144 criminal code files on average per RCMP member. The provincial average for comparable communities is 97.
“That (local) statistic includes me, Howrish, and all of the sworn members. The actual boots on the ground are doing a little bit more than that, but that’s just how they calculate it,” explained S/Sgt. Scott Buchanan during a presentation at the City of Cold Lake council meeting on Tuesday, March 12.
According to Sgt. Ryan Howrish, the number of calls for service is down by about 400 from 5,347 in 2017 and 5,319 in 2016.
The majority of files are generated out of the city, followed by the MD of Bonnyville, Cold Lake First Nations, and the Elizabeth Métis Settlement.
Their success rate
When it comes to closing files, the Cold Lake detachment is seeing success.
In terms of the city, 74 per cent of persons-related crimes are resolved, while 33 per cent of property offences are cleared, and 79 per cent of other criminal code calls are closed.
Over 80 per cent of their persons crimes from outlying communities, such as the MD, the Elizabeth Métis Settlement, and Cold Lake First Nations, are being solved, while property-related offences in these areas are on the lower end of the scale at 34 per cent.
Howrish explained, “For persons crimes, the clearance rates are always higher than property crimes, because generally speaking, when someone assaults you, you know who they are. You don’t generally know who the guys who stole your snowmobile are."
Cst. Jason Jaques, Cold Lake's Police Dog Services member, said they could see that statistic change over the years as his unit continues to tackle local crime.
"We’re going to be able to identify the people and catch them when otherwise we might not (have). So what we may see as it progresses into the years... is (the clearance rate) will increase."
The downward trend is similar for break and enter offences.
"This is kind of an interesting stat," stated Howrish.
Over the last four years, 2017 was the highest for break and enters in the area with 118 in Cold Lake alone. That number dropped to 94 in 2018.
For that same year, the Athabasca RCMP responded to 356 break and enters, while St. Paul had 115, Lac La Biche saw 209, and Bonnyville had 87.
“There are other detachments in our area that are suffering from property crimes worse than we are,” Howrish stressed.
The number of motor vehicle thefts in both the city and rural areas have dipped.
In 2016 and 2017, Cold Lake had 145 vehicles reported stolen. That number has dropped to 85 for 2018.
The rural areas saw a similar trend, with 2016 at 92 files, 2017 with 76, and 74 in 2018.
Top 10 file types
The number one file type for 2018 in the city was mischief, followed by the 911 Act.
"A lot of those 911 calls are false calls, and they take up a pile of our time, because no matter what, we’re going to those just like they’re real,” noted Howrish.
False alarms also landed in the top three with 379, followed by suspicious vehicle, property, or person complaints at 273.
Calls regarding the Mental Health Act may sit at only 184, but for responding members, they take up quite a bit of time.
“They’re time consuming, and there’s a lot to them... If we apprehend someone under the Mental Health Act, we don’t take them to the Cold Lake Hospital unless they require medical attention. We take them all of the way to St. Paul. That’s an hour and a half drive one-way, plus a wait time, and a return,” detailed Howrish. “There’s unfortunately times when we apprehend someone under the Mental Health Act and we have the grounds to believe they’re going to harm themselves or someone else, and we take them down there, drop them off... and the person you drove is beating you out the door."
During an eight-week pilot project, the detachment transported 11 people to the St. Paul Hospital under the act.
Howrish explained why they can't just drop them off at the Cold Lake Hospital.
“They don’t have the cell or security portion for that right now, but it’s something they’re looking at and something they want to do,” he said, adding the hospital has shown interest, but it's all about funding and resource availability.
The success of their PDS unit
In 2018, the Cold Lake RCMP detachment welcomed their Police Dog Services (PDS) Unit.
Harp and his handler Jaques joined the team last spring, and since coming to Cold Lake have been working tirelessly.
According to Buchanan, between May 2018 and December 2018, the unit has participated in 189 files.
Of those, 97 were within the city limits and 92 were in the surrounding area.
"Total captures for 2018, he was directly responsible for arresting 62 people. That's 33 from within the city and 29 from out in the sticks," explained Buchanan.
The number of members and staff
In total, the detachment has 17 municipal members, including their General Investigation Section and Police Dog Service Unit, 10 provincial members, six municipal employees, and three public service employees.
Of their provincial members, one is trained for the Métis enhanced position, while another works as the indigenous liaison officer.
“When you do the math, we have one police officer for 906 people within the city. That’s a little bit above the municipal division average, the other municipalities in our size-area… is 846,” Howrish noted.
Policing priorities
“At the beginning of every fiscal year, we work on a strategic plan for the detachment and set priorities to come up with initiatives to reach our goals,” stated Buchanan.
Last year, the Cold Lake RCMP were focused on safer roads and safer communities, reducing the impact of habitual offenders and organized crime in the community, drug enforcement, safer youth, and building and maintain partnerships within the community, employee wellness, and contributing to safer and healthier Aboriginal communities.
In order to reduce the impact of habitual offenders, the RCMP implemented some crime reduction strategies that would focus on the "five per cent that do 90 per cent of the crime," as well as local hot spots, Buchanan detailed.
“On the drug enforcement end, we had 76 investigations into drug activity."
Over the last three years, 70 people have been charged for trafficking drugs in Cold Lake.
Buchanan noted, “I can’t actually say for a fact that all of that work has caused a reduction in the numbers this year, but I do believe it contributes to that because there’s less access to drugs, and a lot of those property crimes are driven by drugs."
For 2019, Buchanan wants to continue building on the success they've seen so-far.
"Some things in policing don’t change that much as far as the problems we’re trying to address."
Community engagement, employee wellness, community partnerships, and crime reduction strategies were some of the highlights.
“There’s also the meat and potatoes of our work, and that’s the policing business. You’ve heard crime reduction strategies time and time again, that’s really important to focus on the 10 and five per cent of criminals who create 90 per cent of the problem,” stressed Buchanan.
The detachment is open to suggestions from council on areas they should focus their attention.
