Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct the name of the Prairie Creek Bridge along Sundre's Main Avenue-Highway 27 corridor.
SUNDRE — The vast majority if not all of the property thefts that occur in town are typically crimes of opportunity on easy targets that burglars just can’t pass up.
This was among the takeaway messages presented on the evening of Wednesday, May 25 at the Sundre Community Centre by Sgt. Trent Sperlie, the Sundre RCMP detachment commander, during a community engagement initiative attended by about 15 people. Among those present were Sam Zhao, the municipality’s new community peace officer, mayor Richard Warnock as well as some members of the Sundre Citizens on Patrol Association, which remains receptive to new members.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the local RCMP’s top priority remains property crime, said Sperlie.
“All the theft that’s going on in Sundre, 100 per cent are crimes of opportunity—100 per cent,” he said, adding that includes incidents of vehicle thefts where keys were visibly left inside the vehicle, or thefts from vehicles when valuables are left out in the open for the whole world to see with the doors unlocked.
“They’re all crimes of opportunity,” he said, going on to discuss a relatively new method of reducing these kinds of thefts by stopping them from happening in the first place with an approach known as “crime prevention through environmental design.”
That might mean taking steps as simple as ensuring no valuables are left visible through windows as well as never leaving keys in a vehicle and keeping doors locked. For homes, security systems—especially those with video surveillance and instant-notifications that are relayed to the owner—can also be beneficial. Lighting up a property can also act as a helpful deterrent for property crime, the sergeant said.
“To reduce crimes of opportunity, just take away the opportunity,” said Sperlie, adding he’s all too frequently seen video surveillance footage of thieves lurking near a gas station patiently waiting for someone to park and leave their vehicle running even if only for a few seconds while they run into the store to grab snacks or cigarettes.
He was speaking in response to the comments made during the course of the evening, which included other concerns such as certain motorists who accelerate beyond the posted 50 kilometre per hour speed limit after the last roundabout heading west past the Prairie Creek Bridge where there are a number of businesses along the north side of the Main Avenue-Highway 27 corridor across the road from Sixth Street Southwest.
“The message I’m getting tonight, is speeding is definitely an issue,” he said.
And while concerns are occasionally raised about vehicles with dark tinted side and front windows as well as loud mufflers, the sergeant said that given limited resources and manpower, the RCMP must prioritize its efforts on more major crime.
“We’re scheduling trials into 2023 right now,” he said. “So, I don’t want to be tying my members up with traffic offences for window tint, for mufflers and things like that if I don’t have to because I need to get as many resources onto the other priorities such as the property crime.”
Further, the sergeant said he also heard from those who attended that enhancing efforts to ensure a more visible police presence in certain areas that are more off the beaten trail is another priority, along with continued community engagement and building relationships with the public to foster trust.
“We want to get out and we want to listen to your concerns; we want to listen to what it is we’re not doing well, and we also want to hear what you think we’re doing well so that we can continue to do that,” he said. “The negative isn’t a bad thing—it helps us to improve our service.”
Past community engagements throughout the province helped pave the path toward the creation of the Alberta RCMP’s crime reduction units that refocused police efforts more on proactively keeping track of prolific offenders than merely reactively responding to reports of thefts and break and enters.
“It’s always a small group of people that are doing all this crime,” he said about vehicle and copper thefts as well as break and enters.
“So, why don’t we focus on them, as opposed to focusing on running from break and enter to break and enter to theft to theft,” he said, adding that approach has been met with measured success.
“We’ve started doing that over the last few months in Sundre; we’ve had success as well in that we’re looking at our prolific offenders that live in town and we are giving them heat, so to speak.”
As prolific offenders have conditions such as curfews, there are legal avenues police can pursue if they are ever found by a member to be in breach, he said.
The sergeant also discussed rates of recidivism, which he described as “unreal” and “really frustrating.”
Answering a question about where the weak point is in the judicial system’s apparent revolving door—whether the courts or perhaps inadequate penalties for crimes—the sergeant said, “All of the above.”
However, that is an issue for politicians and legislators to address, he said.
“Call them to task on it,” he said.
Responding to another question about whether police have abandoned efforts to enhance distracted driving laws, the sergeant said members who observe infractions continue to pull over motorists who are preoccupied with a digital device.
There was also a question about evidence gathering such as dusting for finger prints, but the sergeant said investigative crime reconstruction is nothing like what is represented in fictional formulaic, one-hour television shows such as CSI.
“I wish it was that easy,” he said, explaining that getting prints or DNA samples is not cut and dry and that members must first evaluate the evidence to determine what can even be gathered.
Citing an instance involving an abusive domestic partner who posted on social media that his truck had been stolen when in fact his partner had attempted to get away, the sergeant also urged caution regarding social media posts and encouraged people to check the source, or the person, posting the information.
The matter of self defence also came up, with the sergeant challenging the myth that Canadians can’t defend themselves without going to jail.
“It has to be reasonable under the circumstances. If you feel somebody’s going to harm you or kill you, can you defend yourself? 100 per cent,” he said.
However, he added there is no legally protected justification for using lethal force in the event a thief is for example turning their backs in an attempt to flee with stolen property.
“That’s where the difference is,” he said, adding the court system ultimately decides what is reasonable use of force under the circumstances.
Additionally, the sergeant said instances of random home invasions are for the most part rather rare, and that burglars who break into a house or shop generally have some kind of relationship with or knowledge about the owner.
And although a property owner is within their rights to attempt to physically stop a thief from getting away with stolen property by for example blocking or tackling them without resorting to the use of deadly force, Sperlie also cautioned against potentially escalating a volatile situation that could quickly become violent and place lives at risk. After all, reacting from an emotionally charged state like anger could lead to regrettable unintended consequences.
There was also a discussion about when to dial 911 and when to call either the Sundre RCMP department’s administrative line, 403-638-3675, or the direct line to the detachment’s dispatchers, 403-638-3655. Of course if there’s an emergency, 911 is always the number to call.
But in the event someone’s life is not in danger and they witness suspicious activity such as a potential theft in progress, the detachment can be called during regular hours, or the dispatchers after hours.
However, as members might be out on a call, contacting the department might not always guarantee the information immediately reaches an on-duty officer. So, anyone who’s concerned a crime is being committed can err on the side of caution and dial 911.
