BARRHEAD - What do you want the RCMP to have as a priority when it comes to policing?
That is the question the Barrhead RCMP Detachment is hoping to find out from the public before finalizing its 2021 Annual Performance Plan (APP).
The APP is a document that lists the policing priorities of a detachment for the coming year. More often than not, Dodds said, it is done in consultation with the municipal councils that need to sign-off on the document.
The Barrhead Detachment serves the Barrhead municipalities, Woodlands County (mostly Fort Assiniboine) and a small corner of Lac Ste Anne County.
This year, as part of the detachment's ongoing public engagement efforts, they are asking area residents what they would like to see included in the plan and to submit their responses via e-mail.
Suggestions of what residents would like to see in the APP as well as any other concerns, questions or comments, can be submitted until March 30. Responses should be directed to Sgt. Dodds at [email protected].
"Because we can't do a town hall type forum these days, we thought we'd reach out to the public and seek their input through the [Barrhead and Area Crime Coalition (BARCC)]," he said.
BARCC is a partnership between Woodlands County, the Town of Barrhead and the County of Barrhead, Barrhead RCMP and Rural Crime Watch.
It was formed in the spring of 2018, in part, due to discussions Peace River-Westlock MP Arnold Viersen had with all parties around initiatives to combat rural crime.
As part of the initiative, BARCC has set up a software-based system that allows the municipalities, Rural Crime Watch and the RCMP to broadcast messages via automated phone calls, e-mails, and texts, about items of public interest.
Unfortunately, Dodds said, so far the response through BARCC has been muted. In the first five days, they have only received one response.
And that single e-mail had little to do with policing priorities; instead, it was a question of why a particular individual was not in jail and what steps the writer could take to protect their property.
"[Those are] certainly valid questions, and something I was able to answer, but it is not the type of input that is necessarily useful when drafting the APP," he said. "The question we are asking is what would you like to see from the RCMP and where would you like to see us focus our efforts."
For example, when he talks to municipal councils, Dodds said one of the areas they often mention as something they would like to see as a priority is police visibility.
Dodds said that while he understands why councils ask for increased police visibility, one of the areas he plans to discuss with them is drugs.
"Most of our property crimes is driven by drugs, which I'm sure is not a surprise to anyone," Dodds said, adding that is why the next APP is likely to include increased drug enforcement.
Unfortunately, Dodds said making a dent in drug crimes is difficult for police everywhere, noting the vast majority of property crimes are due to people's attempt to feed their drug addiction.
Although property crime in the detachment area is on the downward trend because of the pandemic, as there being fewer opportunities for criminals to steal items unseen.
"It is a societal problem," he said. "Unless we find a way to deal with addiction, it is something we are always going to have to deal with."
Policing drug crimes is also becoming more difficult, Dodds said, because of the societal trend of decriminalization of drug possession.
"So we have to find ways to address the drug traffickers and find a way to shut them down," he said.
