Gerald Ingeveld, president of the Olds and District Rural Crime Watch Association (RCW) says he welcomes a new multi-stakeholder project aimed at reducing crime in rural Alberta, and break and enters in particular.
Project Lock Up is a “victim-focused initiative that brings law enforcement agencies and citizen-led crime prevention groups together to provide an enhanced and escalating response to Albertans who have been hit hardest by break and enters,” officials said.
Ingeveld is also on the Alberta Rural Crime Watch Association board.
“The idea of pulling all of those things together is going to help,” said Ingeveld. “The coordinated effort of it is good.”
Stakeholders involved in the project include Alberta RCMP, Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta, Alberta Sheriffs, Alberta Community Peace Officers, Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Branch, Alberta Rural Crime Watch Association, Alberta Citizens on Patrol and Insurance Bureau of Canada.
There are four key components in the project:
• More patrols in the hardest-hit places. Based on an analysis of calls for service from the public, RCMP crime reduction analysts will produce a report of actionable information related to repeat victims of break and enters and crime hotspots. Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta will conduct further analysis and distribute a report of crime trends, repeat victims and repeat offenders to all project partners. RCMP, in coordination with their enforcement partners and citizen-led partners, will then use the specialized report to guide their patrols.
• Enhanced victim support. Albertans who have been victimized the most by break and enters will receive an enhanced followup from the RCMP either in person or by phone. During the followup, RCMP will work to get a better understanding of what happened, provide crime prevention advice, and in some cases, arrange a customized home security assessment by an expert to prevent future incidents from taking place.
• Additional tools for repeat victims. Albertans hit hardest by break and enters will be equipped with the Trace Pen, a property marking device that will increase the likelihood that stolen property is returned to the owner and that criminals are held accountable. As appropriate, more innovative tools can be deployed that will help police identify and arrest criminals operating in the area.
• Enhanced investigative response. Alberta RCMP’s Crime Reduction Units will deploy special operations that will focus on arresting criminals operating in targeted areas. Priority properties will receive an enhanced response from Alberta RCMP’s Forensic Identification Services unit.
“Almost a year ago we launched our seven-point action plan to combat rural crime with the RCMP — since then we have seen a significant drop in property crime across rural Alberta,” said Minister of Justice Kathleen Ganley.
“We will continue building on that momentum, working with our law enforcement agencies and citizen-led organizations, to support safe communities.”
The Olds and District Rural Crime Watch Association works with local police to report suspicious activities, individuals and vehicles. It also operates a crime incident fan-out system.
