DIDSBURY - Property crimes in Didsbury were down and persons crimes were up in 2020, Didsbury RCMP Staff Sgt. Chad Fournier told town council on March 22.
Fournier presented 2020 crime statistics on requests for calls for service in the municipality. Didsbury RCMP covers both the town and surrounding rural area.
Public tips and calls remain key to policing success in the community, he said.
“If anyone sees anything suspicious, please, please call,” said Fournier. “We can’t do this ourselves and we rely on the eyes and ears of the community. People know their neighbourhoods and they know if something doesn’t look right.”
There were 86 suspicious person/vehicle/property calls in 2020, 80 mental health calls, 70 for mischief, 48 for disturbing the peace, 42 for theft under $5,000 from motor vehicle, 36 for other thefts under $5,000, 35 for motor vehicle property damage reportable, 35 for other moving traffic violation, and 32 for uttering threats against a person.
Mental Health calls represent 10.91 per cent of total officer workload, followed by 4.67 per cent for disturbing the peace calls.
There were a total of 97 person crimes calls, up from 88 in 2019. There were four sexual offences calls, 43 assaults calls, three extortion calls, 14 criminal harassment calls, and 29 uttering threats calls.
There were 295 calls regarding property crimes, compared with 359 in 2019. Calls include 76 mischief, two arson, 38 fraud, 22 possession of stolen goods, 83 theft under $5,000, five thefts over $5,000, 32 thefts of motor vehicles, and 37 break and enters.
There were 48 calls for motor vehicle collisions, down from 62 in 2019.
Less people travelling because of the pandemic may be responsible, at least in part, for the reduction in collisions, he said.
Police conducted a total of 1,273 investigations in 2020, down slightly from 1,276 in 2019.
Staffing levels at the detachment are good in 2021, he said.
Mayor Rhonda Hunter commended local RCMP officers for their efforts.
“Thank you for all you and your team do for our community,” said Hunter. “We are very fortunate to have such a skilled team of experts working in our community and for our community and region. RCMP are very appreciated here in our town.”
Council accepted Fournier’s report as information.
