OLDS — Property crime fell sharply in town during the first quarter of the year, from 137 to 97, compared to the same period in 2022, according to an Olds RCMP report.
However, Sgt. Greg Beach of the Olds RCMP detachment says that’s no reason for residents to become complacent about crime.
During an appearance before town council, Beach urged residents to report any or all crimes to police, no matter how insignificant they may seem.
“We always encourage, regardless of how small the crime is, it should always be reported to us,” Beach said.
“Because without those stats, we can't go to District and say, ‘hey, we need a few more members,’ or ‘hey, we'd like to create a special unit to kind of address these things.’
“Without those stats, that doesn't give us a whole lot of bite, if you will.”
But he also said it’s up to people to safeguard their property.
"There's also an onus on the community that it's your property. You need to take care of it,” Beach said.
“You know, the days of leaving your truck or bike out front of your house -- I don't want to say they're gone, but they're they're fleeting, right? You work hard for your things, lock things up right.”
“So then we should really encourage our citizens and our general public to report any type of what they might deem as suspicious behaviour, so that it could be monitored,” Coun. Wanda Blatz asked.
"Yeah, absolutely,” Beach said. “Because what ends up happening is that we're not everywhere, so we rely on our communities to be the eyes and ears for us.
“And if they see something that doesn't look right, then (they can) do their own little sneak and peek, if you will; make your logical deduction.
“And if you think that the police need to know about it, then then by all means phone us or phone it in, because that could be the missing piece to something that we're working on.”
