OLDS — The commanding officer of Olds RCMP says he’s working hard to instill a culture among his officers to be more proactive regarding crime complaints.
Staff Sgt. Warren Wright made that statement during an appearance before Olds town council’s policies and priorities committee meeting last month.
Wright noted that during a town hall meeting on crime in Olds last fall, a complaint was made that residents often feel "helpless” when they report a crime, yet see no obvious follow-up.
“A lot of crime that is discussed at these forums historically was not actually reported to the police,” Wright said.
He said part of the problem is likely that “in some rare cases,” calls received are deemed a low priority and are thus logged in the system but the detachment isn’t actually notified of those cases.
“Therefore, we aren’t aware that the file came in and that we need to contact that victim,” Wright said.
“So we’re working on that to try to mitigate those things, because my expectation is that any Olds resident who phones police looking for assistance in reporting a crime has to get a call back by an RCMP officer.”
Town of Olds Mayor Judy Dahl said some business owners, specifically in the Imperial business area, are among those who “are not sure if there’s been an actual investigation into their complaints beyond simply documenting the occurrence.”
Wright said he couldn’t confirm concerns from that particular area and said he was referring to a general feeling among some residents.
Dahl asked if RCMP would be willing to meet with a business owner who was the victim of crime – repeated break-ins for example – to understand the problem and work to solve it.
“Well it’s my expectation that the attending constable will have conversations, not just sort of take photographs and take statements and understand what was stolen, but actually talk about crime prevention. It’s my understanding,” Wright said.
“That being said, it’s hard to say in terms of historical cases, but that’s certainly the culture that I’m trying to develop at the detachment and in terms of my expectations, that we’re providing not just a reactive service, but that we’re also looking after proactive aspect of it and trying to prevent further crime from happening to these residents and business owners.”
Meanwhile, a long-awaited sergeant could be in the Olds RCMP detachment by summer if all goes well, Wright said.
Earlier, Wright told the Albertan that person would supervise investigations and help out administratively.
Wright told council that that person, currently in northern Alberta, is “incredibly experienced and wanting to move to Olds.”
He said rumour is that person has been offered the position and has accepted it. However, as of last month, Wright had not been told that officially.
"If that’s the case, then I’m hopeful we will have our sergeant by summer time,” he said.
Wright said of the 11 positions at the detachment, the sergeant’s position is the only one not currently filled.
