ST. PAUL - The public had the chance to speak one-on-one with local RCMP during a townhall meeting on Feb. 21 at Reunion Station, in St. Paul.
The meeting was hosted by the Town of St. Paul, alongside St. Paul RCMP. Opening the meeting was Staff Sgt. Greg Stannard. He spoke briefly about how St. Paul RCMP will be some of the first to begin using body worn cameras (BWC) as part of a pilot project that is taking place.
It is expected that local RCMP will be using the cameras within the next month. Stannard believes the cameras will be helpful in several ways and will help show others what officers are seeing.
Concerns around privacy and specifics around protocols, such as how RCMP will notify people they are being recorded, is part of training that will take place.
“It’s a pretty cool piece of technology,” said Stannard.
He also spoke about resources being offered within the detachment, such as addiction services being offered five days a week to those in need.
A virtual opioid dependency program that allows people to connect with a doctor who can prescribe needed medication for those dealing with addiction is among the resources available. And while only four or five people have agreed to take part in the program so far, Stannard believes that if just one person is helped, then "we’ve done our job.”
Sgt. Bobby Burgess offered a general update with some statistics, noting that while people may often hear others speaking about an increase in crime, statistics show the overall situation remains fairly similar to past years.
One area where a notable increase has been seen is property crime, which increased from about 1,400 calls in 2021 to 1,700 calls in 2022. And a slight reduction in people’s crimes has been recorded.
“[We’re] seeing the same trends and call volumes that we’ve seen over the last few years,” said Burgess.
Staff Sgt. James Morton was also in attendance at the townhall meeting, and while he noted he could not speak specifically to Government of Alberta discussions around the creation of a provincial police force, he did affirm the RCMP as a whole is “very happy to be in the communities we are in.”
Using an open format, members of the public were encouraged to ask questions throughout the evening.
Miguel Poulin, dealer principal/owner at St. Paul Dodge was one of the first to speak, noting that he has been frustrated by issues taking place at the local car dealership where suspects have been caught on camera vandalizing things.
“It’s just nothing happens after you do your part,” said Poulin, speaking to frustrations around the court system where offenders are often released shortly after being charged with a crime.
Other residents also noted that they continue to invest in security measures to protect themselves but are not seeing results from those efforts and they continue to be affected by property crime.
Morton stated RCMP has no capacity to direct Crown prosecutors or judges, and the public needs to seek out elected officials if they want to see changes made within the system.
Town of St. Paul Mayor Maureen Miller sat with RCMP members during the townhall and stated that the community’s concerns are being brought forward by the municipal government to the provincial level when opportunities arise.
A message echoed by RCMP and Miller was the importance of reporting crime, even if an RCMP officer is not available to respond immediately. Morton acknowledged that rural residents have been heavily encouraged to report suspicious activity over the last few years, and that in turn has increased the call volumes that dispatch is receiving.
RCMP is now working to have people report some things online, to deviate some of the traffic.
“We do need the information though,” said Miller, adding, it is important for residents to stay on the call when they contact dispatch.
Discussions around the town’s peace officer program also took place. CAO Steve Jeffery explained that Community Peace Officers are not trained to deal with criminal activity like RCMP are, but instead focus on enforcing bylaws and dealing with traffic concerns.
Several residents agreed that even just having a CPO visible is important and acts as a deterrent to crime.
Jeffery also explained the Town’s budget around RCMP and the contract that exists between the two parties. He noted that just over $2 million is spent by the Town on RCMP, annually. The CAO believes it’s important to advocate provincially and relay to the province that a town the size of St. Paul cannot support such high costs for policing.
“We can’t afford what we have.”
One improvement that has been noted – and residents also brought up – was increased security that now exists at the St. Paul hospital. Miller explained that the increased security was a result of Alberta Health Services doing an assessment at the facility, which is a dedicated mental health facility.
The increased security results in less calls to RCMP being made, said Coun. Nathan Taylor, who sat among the public at the meeting.
The mayor was asked why the town opted not to renew a contract with a security company that had been hired to help patrol the community at night a few years ago, to which Miller noted, “it was a budget line.”
Morton acknowledged that there is a cost to crime prevention activities and that “there is no way of preventing all crime.” But, addressing crucial areas such as addictions, mental health, affordable housing, education and meaningful employment, are sure ways to make improvements.
Representatives from Citizens on Patrol were also among those in attendance. The group started in about 1990 and at one point had 120 members helping patrol the streets. The group works closely with local RCMP and volunteers must report at the detachment when they are on a shift.
With members aging, passing away or unable to continue to offer their time, there are now only about 15 active members with Citizens on Patrol.
“We are eyes out there at night,” said the group’s treasurer Harry Peters.
Residents at the meeting were receptive to learning more about Citizens on Patrol and pamphlets were handed out to whoever was interested.
As the meeting wrapped up, Stannard reminded residents to take certain measures – such as locking vehicles and buildings at night – to protect themselves from property crime.
This winter, the detachment took part in Operation Cold Start, where RCMP members went around town checking if vehicles were left unlocked while they were idling. Locally, nine vehicles were found to be unlocked with the keys inside while running, and 27 vehicles were found running with keys locked inside the vehicle.
