If you monitor RCMP news releases, social media crime watch or community pages, it’s likely you will read about a car theft, burglary or other type of property crime almost every day.
Back in March, Statistics Canada revealed the rate of car thefts in Alberta eclipsed those of other provinces with 23,000 vehicles stolen every year, meaning the province with just 11 per cent of the national population accounts for 29 per cent of all vehicle thefts.
Last year, Calgary alone had 5,700 vehicles stolen, or 16 per day.
Those numbers are staggering and account for only a portion of property crimes in the province. Break and enters, according to Statistics Canada, are also on the rise – spiking by 35 per cent between 2014 and 2015.
While definitive numbers on the split of crime rates between rural and urban areas is difficult to come by, anecdotal evidence suggests rural communities are being harder hit as thieves capitalize on areas that have slower police response due to geography.
For that reason, the province’s recent funding to the tune of $10 million to put more enforcement boots on the ground and more prosecutors in the court room is a welcome and necessary action. More officers will improve response times and improve resources.
The money has also gone toward creating the Central Alberta District Crime Reduction Unit (CRU), formerly the Integrated Crime Reduction Unit formed in October.
As an initiative, the crime reduction unit – designed to better co-ordinate police resources and information sharing – has shown phenomenal success.
To date, the CRU has recovered almost $500,000 in stolen property, including 18 stolen vehicles, seized more than 20 guns/weapons, and has made a total of 59 arrests of prolific offenders and their criminal associates.
These arrests resulted in excess of 500 charges laid and the execution of more than 50 outstanding warrants. Those stats include the arrests of 219 people and 469 criminal and drug charges.
Through the funding, each RCMP District will be equipped with a Crime Reduction Team dedicated to targeting prolific offenders, particularly in the areas of break and enters, vehicle thefts and thefts of other property.
Hopefully it will mean Cochrane and Area will see more results when it comes to recovering stolen property, such as the recent major bust of a chop shop near Morley, and more criminals off the street.
While there is always more that can be done, the Alberta Government’s support of our police officers and commitment to public safety is welcome and should be commended.
