CARSTAIRS - Two new Alberta Sheriffs surveillance teams now in operation in rural Alberta will hopefully help counter ongoing criminal activity on farms and other rural properties, says Carstairs mayor Lance Colby.
The plainclothes teams are each made up of eight sheriffs, with one unit operating in southern Alberta and one in northern Alberta.
The teams have been in operation for the past six weeks, with a press conference held in Carstairs on July 18 to provide details of unit activities and plans.
Mayor Colby was joined at the Carstairs conference by Mike Ellis, minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, and Mike Letourneau, superintendent with Alberta Sheriffs.
“Every person has the right to feel safe in their home and on their property and not return home to find their home broken into, their possessions taken, or wake up to find their equipment gone or fuel syphoned from their vehicles,” said Colby, a former Calgary police officer.
“You look at Mountain View County, the area they have to cover is tremendous. (The units) can target and identify known criminals who are out stealing property from rural Alberta, on farms and industry.
“It just makes it better that they can target them and arrest them and put them off the street, which is what this unit can do and will do, I’m positive of that.”
The cost of crime in rural areas remains an ongoing concern, he said
“Rural crime affects all residents and all small business owners,” he said. “Businesses are losing money due to the thefts. Their insurance, like that of all Albertans, keeps going up because of thefts.
“People need to be safe on their farms and in their communities and this will definitely help that.”
The teams will conduct both static and mobile surveillance in rural communities, looking for criminal activities and identifying offenders.
Minister Ellis said the teams will “work to prevent crime, monitor agricultural theft and work in collaboration with local law enforcement to share intelligence and resources.”
“The addition of two new surveillance teams will further support our law enforcement partners in stamping out criminal activity in Alberta’s rural areas.
“This is about supporting local investigations to address local crime in our smaller communities. This is filling a gap by helping local RCMP detachments with local investigations to combat local crime.”
Break-ins committed by prolific offenders is one of the crime types that will be targeted, he said.
Superintendent Letourneau said the officers in the new units are all trained in static and mobile surveillance techniques and will be working closely with RCMP officers and other policing agencies.
“There are a lot of investigative techniques that are utilized in those types of areas,” he said.
Local RCMP detachments will be able to request the assistance of the units, he said.
Following the press conference, Didsbury RCMP detachment commander Stephen Browne told the Albertan: “The addition of new assets to support our operations is always welcome. If they are as accessible and deployable as noted, then I would expect their presence to enhance our ability to combat rural crime.”
