Stats show RCMP are making a dent in rural crime in the province, however the local detachments are seeing varying trends.
According to a report released by the Alberta Justice and Solicitor General at the end of June, rural property crime was down 9.8 per cent in 2018. Compared to 2017, the number of homes broken into dropped by 480, close to 3,500 fewer thefts took place, and there was over 1,200 less vehicle thefts last year.
Locally, the Bonnyville detachment’s numbers saw a similar decrease. In the stats provided by the detachment, which compared the first six months of 2017 to 2018, cases of property crime went from 331 in 2017 to 284 in 2018. The number of break and enters dropped to 42 last year from 56 the year prior, and there were 10 fewer instances of theft under $5,000.
In Cold Lake, they haven’t been so lucky when it comes to property crime. During the same time-frame, the Cold Lake RCMP saw an increase in property crime from 293 in 2017 to 317 in 2018.
On the other hand, break and enters decreased from 45 files in 2017 to 40 last year, and theft under $5,000 also dropped slightly to 41 last year – down three from 2017.
The province is crediting their rural crime action plan for making a difference, which saw $10-million put towards the RCMP and the Alberta Crown Prosecutor Service in April 2018. Of the $8-million earmarked for the RCMP, a portion of the funds went towards creating groups such as the Eastern Alberta District Rural Crime Reduction Unit (EADRCRU).
Based out of St. Paul, it assists local detachments with the apprehension of serious prolific offenders, conducting special operations, and gathering criminal intelligence.
“They have actually been really good at assisting us with most of our major search warrants, and any of our serious or high-profile warrants,” noted Bonnyville RCMP Sgt. Kim Hillier. “They’ll come in and help look for those people. They have been a real boom for our detachment, and very helpful when it comes to reducing crime in the area.”
While she can’t pinpoint any specific initiative that could have influenced their local stats, Hillier does believe the EADRCRU is a benefit for the area.
“Take, for example, when our members are investigating an area where there are a lot of stolen vehicles or a suspect who may be operating a chop shop where they take pieces off the vehicle and sell it for pieces and parts. That’s a very time-consuming and involved investigation involving judicial authorizations and special investigations. So having those extra members here to help us just allows us to target and fully investigate some of these tips that we’re receiving,” she detailed.
Cold Lake RCMP S/Sgt. Scott Buchanan agreed the specialized unit has seen success since it was established.
“We could always use some more help in addressing rural crime, and I guess it’s part of living in rural Alberta, the criminals have found that their targets are more susceptible and to address that is commendable to the province to contribute,” he explained. “At a detachment level, it’s a challenge all the time, no matter if we have external help or not. It comes down to competing priorities, calls for service, and all these different aspects that factor into our ability to respond.”
The MD of Bonnyville peace officers have also played a role in actively combating rural crime, through programs such as the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), educational seminars, and vacant home checks.
Chris Garner, director of public safety for the MD, doesn’t believe the statistics make residents feel safer.
“I don’t think the perception of the public is that rural crime is reduced. I don’t think the public feels that it’s been lessened in any way. I think there’s still the concern and fear of their property being broken into and stolen. We still get calls about suspicious vehicles, we still have people wanting us to check on their homes when they’re away, and they still want information about improving their homes to prevent access to criminals.”
In 2018, the MD had 12 criminal code reports recorded, an increase from eight in 2017. However, these complaints can range from a vehicle being stolen to a drunk driver.
At the Bonnyville detachment, the positive trend has so far continued into 2019. From January to June of this year, the total number of property crimes went down again to 266. Break and enters also saw another dip to 39, and theft under $5,000 is at 52 files.
Meanwhile, Cold Lake saw a further increase in the number of property crime files with 351. The detachment also recorded a higher number of break and enters at 54 and theft under $5,000 at 51.
In order to address crime in the area, Buchanan and Hillier agreed extra members and units are a benefit to the local detachments.
“The more people we have to police our community, the better,” Hillier added. “I would love to see more members here to be able to do all of the community activities that we would like to do and to focus on these investigations that are actually going to put criminals behind bars.”
