OLDS — From April through June, persons crimes in Olds shot up by 88 per cent from the same period a year ago; from 24 to 45, according to an RCMP quarterly report.
During town council’s Sept. 5 policies and priorities committee meeting, deputy mayor Heather Ryan expressed some concern about those figures.
“What are we seeing happening out there? Is this a typical quarter," she asked Olds RCMP commanding officer Staff Sgt. Warren Wright.
Wright said crime stats tend to go in waves. Sometimes they’re low, then comparatively high.
He also said lately, police have had people report crimes that go back many years instead of months.
"An 88 per cent spike is certainly significant and noteworthy, but living in town and working in town, I just don’t feel like that is anything that I’m concerned about,” Wright said.
Coun. Wanda Blatz asked if the upward spike in persons crimes was related to the fact that the weather this spring was warmer than normal.
She also wondered if perhaps some people are now more willing to report crimes they previously might have viewed as not worth reporting.
“I see social media fires up quite a bit with people making comments, so I’m kind of hoping that could be contributing to the trend that we see,” Blatz said.
Wright indicated that it’s hard to say. He said stats can be misleading.
Sometimes people under-report problems. Other times there’s a spike that could even be the result of media campaigns on certain issues.
He also noted that the RCMP PROS data centre helps Olds RCMP field more calls and complaints.
“So again, it could be the spring months of April through June, people are just getting restless. But this is not a trend that’s continuing,” he said.
Coun. James Cummings noted that from April through June, the number of reportable motor vehicle collision and property damage incidents rose from 32 in 2019 to 39 this year.
That's not a huge jump but it got Cummings wondering if the number of such incidents is moving back to a more normal range, now that the COVID lockdown era is over.
“I think that the average is consistent with the 32 to 39 range,” Wright said. “Certainly it’s based on people who are now returning back to work, rather than working remotely.”
Wright suggested people might be able to cut those stats further by changing their driving habits.
He said these days, people tend to drive by “feel” rather than looking at their speedometers and when highway driving, many tend to set their cruise control at 150 kilometres per hour or less.
"It’s just a matter of being attentive and also putting away your distractions when you’re operating your vehicle,” he said.
Coun. Darren Wilson said in a Coffee With Councillors session he attended, there was some talk from residents that police don’t seem to be visible, so he asked what the borders of the Olds RCMP detachment are.
Wright said the northern border of the detachment is the centre line of Highway 587. Its eastern border is about a mile east of the road to Wimborne. The detachment’s southern border is the Bergen Road. The western border is adjacent to Eagle Hill.
As for visibility, Wright said RCMP are out and about in the area; it’s just that people may not necessarily see them, especially in the night time.
“We are out there; it’s just, even when I’m driving my own vehicle through town, I may not happen upon an RCMP vehicle -- or maybe I will,” he said.
