BOWDEN — At first glance, crime was down dramatically in Bowden during the RCMP’s second quarter from July to September.
For example, drug offences were down 100 per cent and municipal bylaw infractions fell by 67 per cent.
That’s because Bowden is such a small town, mayor Robb Stuart says.
“We're such a small community that one plus or one minus makes a huge difference in the percentage,” Stuart said.
Drug stats fell so dramatically because four offences were recorded in the second quarter of 2023 and none during that same period last year.
Persons crimes declined 25 per cent, falling from 20 during that quarter to 15 from July to September, 2024.
Similarly, the number of property crimes recorded during that period fell by 22 per cent, from 46 to 36.
Municipal bylaw infractions fell by 67 per cent during that period, from three to one.
Stuart said that's because town hasn’t really had an active bylaw officer for roughly a year.
He said Red Deer County does some bylaw enforcement for the town and Bowden officials are working on another bylaw plan to improve bylaw enforcement.
"You have to appoint one, just like a deputy mayor kind of thing. You have to have somebody assigned to that job,” Stuart said.
Total provincial infractions rose by six per cent during the RCMP’s second quarter, from 35 to 37.
Stuart said Bowden has had “a really good relationship” with Olds RCMP for as long as he can recall.
"Any concerns we have, we take it to the staff sergeant (Warren Wright). If he doesn't act on it, he definitely talks to us about it and tries to solve it for us, so Warren's been really good,” he said.
He said at one point, Bowden council considered switching to Innisfail RCMP but decided that didn't make sense, given their service from Olds.
