The Olds and District Rural Crime Watch Association hopes to continue to make positive contributions to the fight against criminal activity in the region over the next year and beyond, says new association chairman Jason Leach.
“We will keep relying on all our volunteers and try to promote our rural crime watch activities,” said Leach, an Olds-area farmer. “We want to see people continuing to call the police when they see something suspicious. The police officers say that can be very helpful, that it helps them a lot.”
The association held its annual general meeting at the Bergen Hall on March 27. The meeting included the election of the 2019-20 executive, as well as presentations from police and a fraud awareness expert.
The other members of the new executive are Glenn Bishell (vice-chair), Gerald Ingeveld (past president), Judy Schlichenmayer (secretary-treasurer) and Fred Bay (member at large).
Leach had been the association’s vice-chairman prior to last week’s meeting.
The association works with RCMP and other stakeholders to reduce crime in the region through a fan-out system, workshops and an active social media presence. Its coverage area includes all of Mountain View County and parts of Red Deer County.
Past president Gerald Ingeveld said crime watch in the region has grown over the years and has made important contributions to keeping the community safe.
“It’s not a matter of living in fear or being afraid of what’s going on,” said Ingeveld. “It’s a matter of taking ownership in our community. It’s a matter of knowing that you have neighbours who have your back and there is tremendous power in that.
“That’s what we try to do in bringing people together in these associations. And the RCMP work very hard to support us in that and we appreciate it.”
In her report to the meeting, secretary-treasurer Schlichenmayer said, in part, "Olds RCW is one of the more active associations in the province, and I believe its success is due to having regular meetings to engage our membership, an office, up-to-date fan-out system, and excellent website and Facebook presence, which is updated regularly with new information. We are making a difference in our community.”
Olds RCMP Staff Sgt. Jim MacDonald and Didsbury RCMP Staff Sgt. Chad Fournier made a presentation.
MacDonald said there has been a marked decline in property crime across the region over the past year. He credits that decline to a number of factors, including various police strategies and the work of rural crime watch members and Citizens on Patrol groups.
“There is community involvement here like I haven’t seen in many of the other places I’ve been,” said MacDonald. “We get a lot of calls about suspicious activities. We’ve had a lot of success in responding to those calls.”
The RCMP's recently formed crime reduction units, which are made up of officers who focus exclusively “on that small percentage of bad guys who create the most problems” have helped reduce crime levels across rural Alberta, he said.
“They are very, very successful and have made a lot of arrests,” he said. “Big cities have had these teams for quite some time, but it’s the first time we’ve applied this strategy to our rural areas.”
Staff Sgt. Fournier said property crime is down 41 per cent in the region since 2017.
“Everyone in this room has a hand in that,” said Fournier.
Police continue to encourage public tips, he said.
“If there is anything suspicious, if it doesn’t seem right, always call,” he said. “The more information we have the better.”
Mountain View County and Red Deer County peace officers also made brief presentations.
David McKee, with Calgary Better Business Bureau, spoke about fraud prevention. He outlined some of the scams currently making the rounds, “all things that are designed to get your money or your personal information.”
Scams the BBB is seeing these days include: bank scams where someone calls and asks for banking information; home improvement scams where payment is demanded before work completed; tech scams where someone asks for access to computers; advance loans scams where money is requested to process loans; subscription scams where people are billed and items not sent; employment scams where money is paid for job applications or offers; online purchase scams; income tax scams; and romance scams.
“It’s your money and you have to protect your money,” said McKee. “They want your money or your information.”
Association members voted to set three-year membership fees at $25 starting in 2021.
The association recently received the Rural Crime Watch Farmers’ Advocate Award for its activities. The award comes with a $1,000 cash prize.
About 100 people attended the annual general meeting, which included a meal and silent auction.
Chairman Leach said one of his focuses moving forward will be bringing new people into the association.
The next rural crime watch meeting is scheduled for May 29 at the Mountain View County office.
