MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - Residents should be encouraged to make use of a new RCMP app to report non-urgent crimes in the district, says Coun. Jennifer Lutz.
During last week’s regularly scheduled council meeting, the Division 7 councillor said reporting through the app could help make the district safer.
“It might be a good tool to help reduce crime in our area,” said Lutz, who noted she was planning to use the app herself to report a recent theft at her property.
An app (short for application) is type of software that can be installed on a computer, tablet, smartphone or other device.
The discussion regarding the RCMP app came as council received quarterly reports from the Didsbury, Olds and Sundre RCMP detachment.
In the reports, all three detachment commanding officers said use of the app should be encouraged.
“The Alberta RCMP continues to engage citizens on the importance of reporting non-urgent crimes to help us optimize our crime prevention efforts,” said Didsbury RCMP Staff Sgt. Stephen Browne.
“To help facilitate this, we have made reporting of non-urgent crime easier through th Alberta RCMP App, which is available for free download on Apple App Store or Google Play. Online crime reporting offers a convenient way for citizens to report non-emergent crime to Alberta RCMP from their computer or smartphone without having to phone or visit the police department.”
Online reporting of non-urgent crimes reduces the need for frontline police officers to respond, allowing the officer to spend more time on proactive policing activities, he said.’
“Non-urgent online crime reporting also has the potential to reduce those same non-urgent phone calls to our 911 operators and detachment staff,” he said.
Data collected through the app can help RCMP identify patterns and trends in criminal activities, he said.
“We also use this intelligence to distribute our resources strategically and ensure that our police officers are deployed where they are most needed,” he said.
During the Aug. 23 council meeting, Coun. Gord Krebs said, “I’ve got lots of residents that have phoned in complaints, who have phoned in thefts, and they don’t hear back from the RCMP. So I’m just wondering how the app is going to improve that.”
Council carried a motion accepting the RCMP quarterly reports as information.
