OLDS — Crime stats in the community were down in virtually every category last fall, according to statistics contained in a report to town council from Olds RCMP.
The report covers the RCMP’s third quarter (Oct. 1- Dec. 31, 2022).
The largest decrease, a drop of 80 per cent, occurred for traffic offences other than those that fell under the Criminal Code or provincial law. They slid from five in the fall of 2021 to one during the same period last year.
The second largest drop in crime stats for that period, 59 per cent, occurred in Criminal Code offences other than property crime or crimes against people.
Stats in that category fell from 64 in the RCMP’s third quarter of 2021 to 26 last quarter.
The smallest drop occurred in the property crimes category, falling from 126 in the third quarter of 2021 to 111 during the third quarter last year.
Persons crimes slid downward by 17 per cent from 47 to 39.
Total criminal offences dropped 26 per cent, from 227 to 176.
From Oct. 1-Dec. 31 last year, three offences that fell under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) were recorded, down 40 per cent from the five that were recorded during the same period in 2021.
Criminal Code traffic offences fell from 20 during the fall of 2021 to nine during the same period last year; a drop of 55 per cent.
Provincial traffic code offences declined from 129 during the fall of 2021 to 93 during the last three months of 2022.
From Oct. 1-Dec. 31, 2021, 74 motor vehicle collisions were recorded. Only 45 were recorded for the same period last year; a drop of 39 per cent.
The number of municipal bylaw infractions recorded declined 17 per cent, from 18 to 15.
Overall, Olds RCMP detachment commanding officer Staff Sgt. Warren Wright said it was “a bit of a slow quarter.”
“But I can tell you the fourth quarter’s going to go the same, so we’re pretty happy with the way things are going,” he said.
In a letter to mayor Judy Dahl, Wright noted that the town’s policing priorities for 2022-23 were crime reduction, community engagement and visibility and mental health and domestic violence.
Wright asked what priorities the town would like to see for 2023-24.
He suggested one in addition to the ones noted above: traffic enforcement/infraction prevention.
Wright noted that starting on March 6, the detachment will have a community resource officer.
The job description for that officer, Const. Mitch Price, is to work on crime reduction, community engagement, police visibility, domestic violence and mental health programming plus traffic initiatives.
As a result, he suggested that traffic control might fit in well as a town priority. In fact, Wright said Price will be working on traffic in any case.
Wright was asked what concerns were raised during the three town halls he and others conducted in Olds, Bowden and Mountain View County during the past few weeks.
He said those concerns primarily were property crime – including theft from residents’ properties, stealing gas from vehicles and thieves looking for theft opportunities from unlocked vehicles.
Wright noted that police recently completed Operation Cold Start, during which police checked out vehicles to see how many were locked after having been started for warm-up purposes.
Vehicles that are unlocked but started are easy pickings for thieves looking to steal them.
“To get people to lock their vehicles is the first step in terms of theft prevention,” Wright said, adding thieves generally don’t want to mess with locked vehicles. They want an unlocked one they can drive away fast.
“I think generally, people lock up their vehicles and homes a lot more than they used to,” he added.
He said increasingly, people are installing doorbell cameras to keep an eye on their property.
Wright said Olds RCMP are keeping close tabs on prolific offenders, especially those who are released by the courts on various conditions.
He added that on occasion, police round up people for whom arrest warrants have been issued.
Coun. Dan Daley wondered if catalytic converter thefts are a big problem in Olds like they appear to be in larger communities.
“To be honest with you, I don’t think there's a problem in the town of Olds. Certainly, does it happen? Yes it does, and it tends to happen in waves. But I wouldn’t say it’s an epidemic by any stretch of the imagination,” Wright said.
He noted that some vehicle owners are getting numbers etched into their catalytic converters for identification in case they’re stolen.
In his letter to Dahl, Wright said the 911 system is being upgraded with various improvements.
Coun. Heather Ryan asked if the town will be billed for those improvements.
Protective services director Justin Andrew said there’s no direct cost to municipalities for the changes but that a one or two-cent increase could be added to peoples’ phone bills.
