Olds RCMP are battling a deluge of property crime and Cpl. Michael Black has no idea when ñ or if ñ things will quiet down.
Black says in the first week or so of October, Olds RCMP handled 164 calls for service, up from the usual weekly figure of 60 to 70.
"Property crime is just absolutely through the roof," Black said during an interview with the Albertan.
Black is unsure why property crime has suddenly risen.
He can't say if it's all being committed by local people or by criminals from out-of-town, although he suspects it's a combination of both.
The crime is occurring in all sorts of categories. That includes stolen vehicles, break-ins to vehicles, break-ins to homes, and flight from police.
"We had 14 either thefts of car, truck or trailer; three (vehicles) recovered, 20 reports of mischief (attempted theft of vehicles), unlawful entries, damage to the vehicles, regular damage to other stuff, 12 break-and-enters reported, and then 36 of the kind of the regular calls ñ abandoned vehicles, suspicious vehicles, false alarms ñ that type of stuff," he says.
"Probably in the last month, I'm going to estimate, between a dozen and 15 vehicles that have fled on us. We try to stop them ñ whether it's a stolen vehicle or a suspicious vehicle, we go, light ëem up and they take off on us, right?
"So it's not due to lack of effort from the members. We're out there, we're trying to get the vehicle stopped, it's just ñ things are in place that are just not working out for us."
Collisions in traffic have also spiked. Thirty-three of the 164 calls police handled fell in that category.
Black says that's likely due to the days when snow hit the community and people just weren't ready for it.
Black says there's no pattern to the property crime. It seems to be occurring all over town.
"We do have it plotted out there and yeah, it's random. It's not like we can say, ëoh, it's happening in the Vistas, or it's happening downtown, or it's happening in the south," he says.
Black stands by the regular police advice to lock your doors and make sure any valuables you have are hidden out of sight, although he admits that in some incidents, thieves managed to break into vehicles that were in fact locked.
Alarmingly, in some cases, firearms were stolen out of vehicles. They had been left in there overnight and thieves helped themselves.
Black is unsure whether this latest surge in crime is due to the downturn in the economy. He notes that began back in 2014.
He concedes some people might turn to crime if they've been out of work for a couple of years, but he doesn't think that accounts for everyone involved.
"Typically you know, criminals don't have a job from Day One," he says.
To help battle the crime wave, Black hopes Citizens On Patrol can somehow be revived in the community.
"I know it's been an issue with the town, they're trying to get it back functioning. But any type of extra eyes we can get to help out about suspicious vehicles is great," he says.
"It's not due to lack of effort from the members. We're out there, we're trying to get the vehicle stopped, it's just -- things are in place that are just not working out for us."OLDS RCMP CPL. MICHAEL BLACK
