BOYLE – Boyle RCMP had a successful first quarter, which included seizures of approximately two-and-a-half kilograms of illegal narcotics, and an increase in inter-departmental cooperation with its law enforcement partners.
At their Aug. 16 meeting, councillors voted 5-0 to accept the first-quarter RCMP report as information, which covered April 1 to June 30, noting their satisfaction and support with the work that the detachment has been doing.
“I can’t give them enough praise for the work they do when it comes to keeping our community safe,” said mayor Colin Derko. “I don’t always put a lot of faith into numbers, since they’re skewed by so many things. We aren’t alarmed by the numbers, but we are extremely happy that they’re taking the time to report them to us and follow our concerns when we have them.”
Detachment commander Sgt. Dennis Properzi said that the numbers support the work they’ve been putting into initiatives, including higher traffic enforcement on the local highways. Boyle RCMP seized roughly two-and-a-half kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine throughout the quarter, which the report referred to as “a large success for the area, and the Eastern Alberta District as a whole.”
“It went well, our biggest thing was the drug enforcement stats because of the seizures we had,” said Properzi. “It’s difficult to get it all, but we have been working on coordinated efforts to make patrols. If we can stop the vehicles, and you know what you’re looking for when you pull over a certain vehicle, it really just comes with experience.”
Sub: Crimes of opportunity
Since Properzi identified crime reduction through rural patrols as a priority, the detachment has had three drug possession files, and four trafficking files, which were both at zero the year before. Call volume is also down in the Wandering River and Grassland area as a result of the increased presence.
“We’re seeing an uptick in property crime, so we’re seeing a lot more rural break and enters, especially in the lake areas,” said Properzi. “There are more people coming in, so there’s more equipment being stored, and criminals are using that as an opportunity to scope out properties. We do get calls about suspicious vehicles which we use to try and be proactive, but without surveillance or witness information it’s tough.”
Police are looking to ramp up their rural patrols, often collaborating with other law enforcement agencies to do so, including the Alberta Sheriffs and Athabasca County Peace Officers. The report highlighted several joint force operations (JFOs) between different branches, as well as high visibility patrols in the lake areas as another area of success.
Another area of concern has been Mental Health Act files, which went up by 26 per cent in 2023 with 24 cases compared to the 19 in 2022. Properzi noted that these aren’t typically enforcement files; instead, officers are acting as an extension of the healthcare system and performing wellness checks.
“A lot of the medical facilities don’t have the capacity to deal with the increase, so if the doctors identify that a person isn’t an imminent risk to themselves or others, that falls back on the families, and often out of desperation they reach out to us,” said the sergeant. “We do what we can within our power, but a lot of those issues fall back on the families.
As a result of the increased calls, the detachment is looking at ways to better equip its members to deal with mental health calls, including training, and a Regional Police and Crisis Team officer out of the Athabasca detachment.
“We’re looking at more ways to increase the education for our members,” said Properzi. “It’s not something we enforce, it’s really more of a service that we provide to try and get people the resources and the help that they need.”
Sub: What comes next?
Looking ahead, Properzi said the major focus for the detachment is getting back into the schools at they start back up; not only will it be important to get the kids used to the officers that come by for community engagement, but there’s always safety concerns with the increase in activity on the roads.
“Our focus is going to be on getting some higher visibility out there, getting members introduced back in,” said the sergeant. “We’re also going to try and curb some of the traffic issues with the buses being back on the road. The biggest thing people can expect from us is going to be that high visibility.”
