BARRHEAD – Barrhead is a safe community.
It is something Barrhead RCMP Detachment Commander Sgt. Bob Dodds continues to say, and the statistics continue to bear that out.
On Aug. 16, Dodds told County of Barrhead councillors that, by and large, crime statistics continue to be on a downward trend.
For the quarter of April to June, Barrhead RCMP received 205 criminal code complaints, the lowest number in five years. The second lowest was in 2021, with 211 total Criminal Code complaints, while 2019 was the highest at 289.
In the person crimes (crimes committed directly against people) category, the detachment received 44 complaints, the second lowest in five years, with 2018 being the lowest at 34 and 2019 on the high end at 54.
Assaults led the way at 25, followed by sex offences at six (broken into sexual assaults at four, and other sex offences at two); uttering threats at six; and criminal harassment at four. From April to June, police also dealt with one robbery and one extortion complaint.
On the property crime side, theft under $5,000 complaints led the way at 24, followed closely by break and enter at 23; fraud at 21 and mischief (damage to property) at 18; motor vehicle theft at 14; possession of stolen goods at 10. Theft over $5,000; mischief (other); and arson came in at four, two and one complaints, respectively.
Incidentally, Dodds noted that property crime complaints were the at their lowest in five years.
However, he said despite the promising statistics, Dodds noted there are areas for concern, specifically referring to break and enters, fraud and motor vehicle theft complaints which are trending upwards.
He also noted that motor vehicle collisions are also on the rise, adding that of the 58 motor vehicle collisions reported in the second quarter of 2022, there were no fatalities and only four reported injuries.
"Our community and our roads are safe," he said.
Crime Severity Index (CSI)
Dodds added that not only is the overall crime rate trending downward but so is the severity of the crimes reported.
In early August, Statistics Canada released its annual CSI statistics as part of its annual report, Crime Statistics in Canada 2021.
The CSI measures the severity of police-reported violations, including traffic offences, with serious crimes given more weight. For 2021, the Barrhead detachment's CSI is 90, compared to 107.8 in 2020. The 2021 CSI provincial average is 101.4, which is also a decrease from the previous year at 109.
"We hear an awful lot about how Barrhead is not a safe community, but the perception is not the reality," Dodds said. "Barrhead is a safe community. Our Crime Severity Index says it is safe. If you go to any other community in Alberta, the odds are it will have (a higher CSI)."
He said the crime statistics that are contributing the most to Barrhead's CSI are break and enters at 92 offences for 2021, which accounts for almost one-third (30.5 per cent), followed by frauds with 61 offences (11.5 per cent) and motor vehicle theft with 75 offences reported accounting for 8.3 per cent of the index.
Dodds said the detachment has had some success of late solving break and enter files.
From April to Aug. 16, the Barrhead RCMP has received 40 break and enter reports throughout the detachment area ranging from homes and businesses to rural outbuildings.
"Eight of them were solved, ending a charge," he said. "That is a 20 per cent clearance rate, which I know sounds abysmal, but is pretty good for that crime in that category."
In the past, Dodds has stated that the clearance rate for property offences is usually much lower than that of person crimes due to the lack of witnesses.
He then moved on to the subject of fraud, adding the vast majority of complaints they receive are about online/e-mail or cold call scams.
"The reality is that no one is going to get arrested, and you are probably not going to get your money back," Dodds added, saying they are notoriously difficult to investigate as they often originate from overseas.
"We will continue to try to educate people. We have had good responses from banks, convenience stores and other businesses, reporting suspicious activity to us or stopping it themselves."
Industrial area
Coun. Bill Lane said he has heard from many businesses in the town's industrial area stating that criminals had hit them several times.
Dodds agreed, saying criminals have been targeting the industrial section, noting RCMP recently arrested an individual believed to be responsible for a break-in in the area.
"We try to increase the number of patrols and encourage businesses to step up their security, and many have," he said.
Lane also asked about drug activity, specifically drug houses. Unfortunately, Dodds said, until society comes up with a solution for addiction, there will always be drug houses.
However, he said they have had some success on that front as well, referring to a total in-house operation in early July, which resulted in the arrest of a 35-year-old Barrhead man who was charged with several drug-related and weapons charges.
"We (confiscated) probably the biggest volume of drugs (including fentanyl, crystal meth, cocaine, among others) I've seen in my career in Barrhead. There was cash, guns and a 3-D printer making guns, which is so new that the Crown is researching how to proceed," Dodds said. "That was a big win ... and we are expecting some excellent results in court ... That gentleman will be gone until after I retire."
Dodds also referred to a couple more recent successes taking suspected drug traffickers off the street, who are now in the court system.
"But regrettably, it is like playing whack-a-mole," he said. "We have someone who spent a year or more in jail and is now back here and active. They pop up, you do what you can and then they pop up again."
