LAC LA BICHE - Despite RCMP saying the first quarter of 2021 saw a decrease in break and enters and property crime, a break-in last month at a downtown Lac La Biche clothing store — the fourth in a consecutive spree by the same individual — may indicate an uptick for the second quarter. A break and enter at a home or business not only leaves a blemish on the community's attempts for promotion, it also leaves lasting effects on the business and homeowners themselves, says Lac La Biche and District Chamber of Commerce President Dave Phillips.
Policing, the justice system, economic development, social issue and the economy are all hot-button topics when it comes to community crime, says Phillips — but the human toll is often forgotten.
"What's never really talked about is the unaccountable emotional wear on people when it comes to dealing with the aftermath of a break-in," Phillips told the POST following last week's arrest, and subsequent release of a local man wanted in connection to a destructive theft from Highpoint Clothing that saw a portion of the business' outer wall smashed with an axe. "Dealing with insurance, getting the business locked back up and secured so it stays reasonably safe right after, as well as the uncertainty that you've done enough to mitigate it being again."
The region's crime rate is a recurring topic for area business associations, says Phillips, explaining that repeat instances make the cost of doing business very expensive for local merchants, especially with the additional cost of crime prevention products like alarm systems and protective shutters and screens and surveillance cameras.
"They become very expensive additions to the building," he said, explaining that high costs can lead to high stress for an already challenged business climate.
"As a region, we do, unfortunately, have a high crime rate and the equally unfortunate expectation expressed by many business owners, is that it's just a matter of time before it happens them if it hasn't already," he said, adding that the equally frustrating part is watching the criminals walking free as they wait for court dates that rarely seem to offer punishments that match the physical and emotional damage. "The court systems seem to favour the criminals."
So what can the Chamber do? Phillips said there are so many components to the issue, but little solid answers.
"It's almost an impossible question to figure," he said, explaining that ongoing discussion with municipal leaders and local policing organizations in addition to regular correspondence with provincial and federal partners keeps the issue on the radar.
Phillips says the Chamber is in support of a number of local initiatives underway to bring awareness to crime prevention in the area.
The Lac La Biche region is part of a pilot project for a provincial rural crime initiative that includes other local communities including the area's Indigenous communities. In recent years, municipal officials also conducted monthly meetings of the Crime Reduction Committee, an internal committee that has now morphed into the Safer Municipality Advisory Committee. Since 2020, the SMAC group, made up of municipal leaders, community members and policing representatives have followed a mandate to serve as a bridge between the public, law enforcement and the municipality. In addition to those efforts,several council members meet regularly on provincial and federal committees regarding crime prevention and awareness. Lac La Biche County councillor Lorin Tkachuk is a recently-appointed member of the Alberta Community Crime Prevention Association (ACCPA) and has attended local, regional and national crime prevention and awareness conferences and workshops.
"We have been working diligently over the last three years in an attempt to combat crime in our county," said Tkachuk of his first term as a municipal councillor. Several highlights of that work include the creation of the local, stakeholder-driven crime-awareness committees, a community-wide emergency alert system, and the municipal support offered to the RCMP for a dedicated crime reduction unit in the local detachment. "Collaboration seems to be the most effective technique thus far."
Tkachuk said further efforts continue on rural crime awareness and prevention programs in partnership with community members and the municipality's community peace officers.
"We are currently working with concerned citizens to enable a rural crime watch through efforts with the community peace officers," he said, praising the local efforts and seeing more being done in the future. "I feel at a municipal and provincial level Lac La Biche County is very involved — more so than most counties in trying to come up with proactive and effective solutions to reduce the impacts of crime to our residents."
Phillips agrees, saying community members need to keep safety concerns and crime prevention at the forefront. He encourages residents to speak with their local, provincial and federal government representatives about crime prevention strategies as well as taking an active part in their own communities, watching out for suspicious activities, and doing their part.
"Community effort is always a big part," Phillips said.
In the break-in at Highpoint, the suspect was caught by police as he made his second visit to the store after smashing a hole in the wall during the early-hours incident. Products valued at around $2,000 were recovered by police. Damage estimates at the store were not known, but Highpoint's owner said it would be an expensive fix.
The report shows that RCMP patrolling Lac La Biche County in the first part of 2021 are seeing some significant decreases in certain crime reporting, with break and enters and vehicle thefts both dropping by significant amounts over statistics from the first months of 2020.
At a recent sit-down with municipal elected officials, La Biche RCMP Staff Sgt. Charles Brown says that while the property crimes were down at the start of the year, there are some increasing trends that are areas of concern. In a report that captures the local detachment’s crime statistics for the first three months of the year, Brown says the region saw increases in mental health-related incidents, vehicle pursuits, and alcohol-related vehicle suspensions.
The next local RCMP quarterly update, is expected to be presented to Lac La Biche County councillors in late July.
