ATHABASCA – With the summer setting in and COVID-19 restrictions coming to an end, Athabasca RCMP are seeing the number of calls they are responding to rise sharply.
Between May 23 and June 22, members from the local detachment responded to 403 calls for service in their coverage area between the south of Athabasca County and the Calling Lake area.
“From my point of view, it definitely got busier this month,” said Const. Jay Tessier the morning of June 23. “Usually, it starts getting busier in May or April, but it seems like now is the time. It has definitely picked up.”
Among the more serious Criminal Code complaints, RCMP dealt with two different calls of assault with a weapon— one where a man in Calling Lake was shot in the face with a BB gun. The victim did not report the assault and left the area before RCMP could speak to him. It only came to their attention after a family member reported it. The other involved the use of bear spray, and the offender was also in possession of a firearm at the time.
In addition, there were six other calls of assault, four of them resulted in charges as they were considered domestic incidents.
There was also one sexual assault reported, along with one report of sexual interference — the difference being the age of the victim. Sexual interference refers to a victim under the age of 16.
RCMP also dealt with 15 vehicle thefts. One incident in Athabasca saw a cube van stolen from the Home Hardware and used to break into the Blue Heron Bottle Depot where $2,000 worth of recyclables and other valuables were taken. Another vehicle theft from Athabasca was reported the next day, but it had already been driven to Calling Lake, stripped of its VIN and burned.
There were 19 other thefts reported, mostly at work sites across the area — one of them involved property over $5,000. Fourteen other break and enters occurred — five to businesses, two at cottages at Calling Lake and seven others to local residences — one of which resulted in charges.
Local RCMP were also involved in a tracking down three suspects who fled from police in a vehicle from Wabasca, then crashed it. The police dog unit was called in at that point to help in their capture.
They also responded to 17 called of mischief — nine regarding damage to property and eight for obstructing the enjoyment of a public space. There were also 10 disturbing the peace calls, most of them involved either alcohol or drugs.
Four possession of stolen property charges were also filed along with one for uttering threats. Members also dealt with seven mental health calls, 30 suspicious vehicle/person calls, and are getting reports of gunshots from the Calling Lake area two to three times per week, said Tessier.
On the traffic side of the law, officers laid six impaired driving charges, and dealt with 18 traffic collisions in the last month. There were no fatalities, but three of them involved minor injuries — all three in the Calling Lake area — one involved a motorbike and saw the driver receive some serious road rash; another, involving alcohol, saw the driver transported to the Wabasca/Desmarais Healthcare Centre and released; and the other saw an oil tanker try to pass a grader on a gravel road and ended up on its side in the ditch.
Seven other collisions resulted in no injuries, but damage totalled more than $2,000, mostly from deer strikes. Eight more had less than $2,000 damage. In four instances, drivers failed to remain at the scene of the accident.
Police also handed out seven intersection related tickets, mostly for failing to stop. Forty-three drivers were also caught speeding, and officers handed out 37 other tickets for violating provincial statutes.
