Vigilance and good neighbours important to preventing crime in rural areas: RCMP

AIRDRIE - Just because rural crime is trending down in many areas of the county so far in 2023 doesn’t mean citizens shouldn’t be taking steps to safeguard their property.

“When we think about reducing crime, it is a layered approach of not just having one thing,” explained Cpl. James McConnell of the Airdrie and Airdrie Rural RCMP’s Community Policing Unit. “But rather, having multiple things to deter crime.”

That means both police and rural residents each have their roles to play to prevent crime, McConnell said, adding rural crime strategies cannot rely on a unilateral approach.

“The biggest difference that can be made when we look at dealing with rural crime is that kind of partnership between rural communities and the police,” he said. “It is a multi-faceted approach thinking about having (community) crime prevention groups, good neighbourhoods where neighbours are looking out for one another, and reporting suspicious activity to the police.

“And then, of course, police doing their part and responding.”

According to McConnell, rural property owners should evaluate their properties regularly to ensure they have good lighting and fencing around their yards. Many rural property owners today also use CCTV cameras, motion lights, and deterrence alarm systems to improve their personal security situation, confirmed McConnell. 

Having a dog on site who is trained to bark when someone enters the yard also wouldn’t be a bad idea for some, but nothing, McConnell emphasized again, beats having a strong relationship of mutual support with neighbours.

“One of the best things you can do is form good relations with your neighbours and look out for one another,” he stated.

From an RCMP perspective, McConnell said it can be uniquely challenging in the greater Calgary region to deal with the thin borders between jurisdictions. Although the small communities and rural areas surrounding Calgary have their own share of criminals who target local property owners, the RCMP officer acknowledged criminals can just as likely come from Calgary into the surrounding rural areas.

That’s why the Airdrie and Airdrie Rural RCMP have built up strong relationships, not only with their fellow RCMP officers in other nearby detachments, but also the Calgary Police Service, he said.

“We have our Crime Reduction Unit that works closely with the Calgary Police Service,” he confirmed. “We have updated our technology in the last couple of years so we have really good inter-operability with the Calgary Police Service. We are able to communicate with them in real time, and we also share resources on a number of these pursuits for stolen vehicles, (for example), that end up coming from Calgary into our jurisdiction, and vice-versa.

“Anytime we can combine resources with our partner agencies, and partner detachments, just leads to safer and better outcomes.”

While local police officers are here to serve residents throughout Rocky View County and various other communities in the area, McConnell said they can do nothing to prevent crime when property owners make it easier for the criminals, by leaving their keys in unlocked vehicles, for example.

“It’s not just in the countryside, it’s in the city as well,” McConnell said. “I think people do sometimes take for granted that there are (criminals) out there who are checking door handles, and looking for keys left in vehicles. When we don’t have vehicles locked up, and keys kept separately, it sure makes it easy for them.”