The Didsbury, Olds and Sundre RCMP detachments have launched an online survey aimed at garnering public input into policing priorities in the district.
The RCMP Policing Priorities Survey results will be help police better understand community views, said Didsbury RCMP Staff Sgt. Chad Fournier.
Each detachment has a slightly different survey, with the surveys now posted on the Town of Olds, Carstairs, Didsbury, Sundre and Mountain View County websites.
“Policing priorities ensure that in addition to responding to calls for service, members focus on the policing issues most important to the public,” said Fournier.
“The three detachments work very closely together and, of course, criminals do not see detachment boundaries, or care about any boundaries, so obviously detachments work closely together.
“This is a good way to get public input on what we should be focusing on. This year we are coordinating our efforts to get it all done at the same time.”
The RCMP’s reporting year run from April 1 to March 31, “so that’s why we are doing this now,” he said.
Each detachment will use their respective survey results going forward, he said.
“We are going to use the results individually for our own priorities,” he said. “Issues that might affect the town of Didsbury might be different from the town of Sundre or the county. We will be implementing them right away.”
The Didsbury detachment survey asks respondents to pick their top three priorities from a list of 10:
• Community engagement (ie: community crime prevention/watch groups and alternative patrols like foot and bike patrols).
• Crimes against persons (ie: assaults and threats), family violence (ie: domestic abuse and threats).
• Fraud.
• Impaired driving (drugs/alcohol).
• Illegal drug-related offences (ie: possession and trafficking).
• Major property crime (ie: break and enters, theft of motor vehicles and theft over $5,000).
• Minor property crime (ie: vandalism, theft under $5,000).
• Traffic enforcement (ie: aggressive driving and distracted driving).
• Youth engagement and development (ie: school resource officer).
Respondents are also asked: “Do you find your local RCMP detachment personnel are approachable and accessible?”
They are also asked: “Do you believe your RCMP detachment is providing a service that meets your community needs?”
There is also a section asking respondents to provide feedback, including regarding “opportunities for improvement that you see for the RCMP detachment or any other comments you would like to share.”
Residents are asked to only respond to the survey in their respective municipality, he said.
“Wherever they pay taxes, that’s the website they should be going to,” he said, noting that Cremona residents should respond on the Mountain View County website.
The survey will remain open on the municipalities’ websites until March 24.
