With thefts and break-ins at rural properties in the region continuing to cost residents large sums while creating anxiety for families and business owners, efforts to fight those crimes are always welcome.
Rural crime watch and citizens on patrol groups have played key roles for many years in bringing criminal activity to the attention of police, leading in many instances to arrests and convictions.
Now the RCMP has expanded another crime fighting initiative provincewide that's open to landowners and other citizens to help fight rural crime on an ongoing basis.
The CAPTURE program – Community Assisted Policing Through the Use of Recorded Evidence – is a voluntary surveillance camera registry project.
Under the initiative, residents and business owners who sign up for the program agree to share surveillance camera footage with police on a strictly voluntary basis.
“This initiative will help officers track down video evidence in ongoing criminal investigations in RCMP jurisdiction and reduce the time an officer needs to search for and gather video evidence,” RCMP officials said in announcing the program expansion.
Landowners and residents taking part in the program will enter their contact information and video camera locations on a secure site.
“An officer will contact you if they believe your camera may have captured evidence of a crime,” officials said.
Participating in the program is voluntary, consent of the participant can be withdrawn at any time, and the video footage remains the property of the participant.
The RCMP will not have live access to the camera feed, and participants will only be asked to share videos already recorded.
“This strategy is another way the Alberta RCMP is working with our communities to solve crime faster,” say officials. “By providing video footage to police during an investigation, communities increase the chance of a successful prosecution.”
This video crime-fighting initiative (at ruralalbertacapture.ca) gives participants a hands-on opportunity to protect their property and the community-at-large.
As such, area residents, landowners and business owners are encouraged to consider signing up.
Dan Singleton is an editor with the Albertan.
