Innisfail RCMP is reporting a good month in December, including the Christmas season, in ensuring local and area citizens were safe on both the roads and in their homes.
RCMP Cpl. Jeff Hildebrandt said the detachment received a total of 176 ìoccurrenceî calls on all types of issues during the month.
ìI wouldn't say we were exceptionally busy but it was on par with previous years,î said Hildebrandt.
He said 10 of the total number of calls involved motor vehicle collisions. None of them involved serious injuries or fatalities, he said.
Hildebrandt said RCMP nabbed four suspected impaired drivers on the road, and another two through its month-long Check Stop campaign that began on Dec. 1 and ended Jan. 2.
ìIf we get more than two or three (impaired drivers) a month that is a high occurrence rate,î said Hildebrandt. ìDecember is typically a high month.î
Hildebrandt did not have last year's comparable figures available at press time but he praised his detachment's officers' performance in keeping the roads safe for citizens.
Meanwhile, local RCMP received a dozen calls between Dec. 3 and 29 about assaults over the holiday season, half of which led to criminal charges being laid.
Hildebrandt said four of the investigations were domestic violence cases. One of the investigations led to a charge of assault with a weapon.
RCMP were also called to investigate four complaints of break and enters, along with seven reports of thefts from motor vehicles.
ìThat is a chronic problem all year long,î said Hildebrandt, adding criminals will frequently engage in ìcar hoppingî to determine whether vehicles are unlocked and valuables are easily accessible inside to steal. ìThe message for people is to make sure doors are locked and don't leave valuables on the dash.î
Immediately following New Year's Day, RCMP were asked to probe a complaint that two Caucasian men were approaching people in town from a black Escalade SUV trying to sell electronic equipment, including projection televisions.
Innisfail RCMP Const. Craig Bennett said the two men were attempting to con folks by saying they received an excessive amount of inventory and were willing to part with the equipment at a greatly reduced rate.
ìIt is a fraud,î said Bennett.
If anyone is approached on the street by men trying to unload electronic equipment from an Escalade SUV he or she is urged to contact RCMP immediately at 403-227-3342.
RCMP was also called by the staff at the Innisfail Public Library over the theft of a Victor reader, a device that assists the visually impaired and uses only specific disks.
Bennett said the reader has a value of about $400 and was stolen sometime before Christmas Day.
If any citizen has information about this theft he or she is asked to call local RCMP at 403-227-3342.
