The effort to reduce property crime remains a primary police objective, council heard last week.
“Provincially, crime reduction will continue to remain a top priority within the RCMP,” said Sgt. Jim Lank, commander of Sundre’s detachment, during the April 9 meeting.
The sergeant provided elected officials with an update on his department’s annual performance plan from the past year and also outlined areas of focus for the next 12 months.
The plan, which each department throughout the province must prepare annually, is created in consultation with key stakeholders including the municipality and the community.
“When I look at the statistics, and just with a knowledge of the community and what’s going on, property crime clearly is our number 1 priority — it’s our biggest issue,” he said.
“We didn’t provide six community presentations on rural property crime and citizens' rights last year for nothing. And those were very well received.”
Among the initiatives outlined under that primary objective are the following: a continued focus on the Habitual Offender Program that involves regular conditions checks on individuals with criminal histories; community engagement and education to raise awareness about proactive steps people can take to reduce the chances of becoming a victim of theft; as well as specialized investigations through collaboration with RCMP taskforces such as the Crime Reduction Unit, he said.
“These units coordinate information with other detachments, and they come out and they assist us with catching these bad guys,” he said, adding this might involve short- as well as long-term police operations.
“This team has already been responsible for at least a couple of really good investigative enforcement activities” that have resulted in arrests, he said, adding the Sundre detachment will attempt to call upon that unit to conduct at least four investigations throughout the coming year.
“It could be more.”
Also identified as objectives for the next year are to continue efforts on promoting traffic safety as well as fostering positive relationships with the community and ensuring employee wellness, he said.
Council seemed supportive of the sergeant’s plan, and did not express any opposition or concerns about the objectives and initiatives he presented.
The full breakdown of the Sundre RCMP detachment’s annual performance plan is available on the Town of Sundre’s official website, www.sundre.com, by clicking on the April 9, 2018 agenda that can be found under the government tab in the "council meeting agendas and minutes" section.
