BARRHEAD- If the pandemic has a silver lining, it just might be the reduction of criminal activity.
At least that is what Barrhead RCMP Detachment Commander Sgt. Bob Dodds believes is behind the continuing trend of a lower than average crime rate.
"Our total criminal code files [for January to March] for the entire detachment is the lowest it has been in five years," he said.
Dodds was at the May 4 County of Barrhead council meeting to give councillors his quarterly update.
"The only numbers that are on the high side are criminal harassment and fraud," he said.
In the first three months of 2021, the detachment recorded 18 fraud complaints and 12 criminal harassment complaints. Both are at five-year highs.
"Fraud reports come to us all the time. A lot of is telephone fraud or the scam artist," Dodds said, noting the police often don't bother generating a file for.
"There is not much we can do. Although the victim or the attempted victim is here, the criminal is who knows where. Most of the time outside the country, so what we do is to refer them to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre."
As for why criminal harassment statistics are on the rise, Dodds believes it has to do with people sending harassing communications.
"It can be anything, texting, Facebook or telephone communications," he said.
On the person crime side (crimes perpetrators commit directly against other people, i.e. assault) the most reported crime was assault at 15, followed by the previously mentioned criminal harassment at 12.
Sexual assault and other sex offences accounted for nine files. Uttering threats, robbery, and extortion were the least reported categories at four, two and one, respectively.
On the property crime side, the most reported offence in the first three months of the year was theft under $5,000 at 29, the lowest total for the same period in five years. The most files reported was in 2019 at 55.
Break and enter was the next highest at 23, followed by the previously mentioned fraud, mischief (damage to property) and motor vehicle theft at 18, 14 and eight. Possession of stolen goods and the miscellaneous mischief category tied at four complaints each, and there were three theft over $5,000 complaints. And for the second time in five years, police received no arson complaints in the first quarter of the year.
"The stats are down right across the province and probably the country and I think it is largely due to COVID. People are home more, which makes it hard to steal stuff," he said.
As for complaints in the County of Barrhead, they also follow the downward trend. Only five-person crimes were recorded in the first quarter of 2021, criminal harassment being the most reported at two, followed by uttering threats and assault at one.
"What that tells me is what I have always said — it is a safe community to live in," Dodds said.
Unfortunately, the news wasn't quite as rosy when it came to property crime. By and large, he said, all the statistics remained static, staying in the single digits and no large changes in most categories.
The only real blip was in the eight break and enters compared to four last year and six in both 2018 and 2019 and frauds at eight compared to 2, 3, going backwards from 2020.
"So about half of all the property crime [33 files] in the county can be attributed to B&Es and fraud, so overall things are still on a downward trend," Dodds said.
Coun. Bill Lane said he has received several calls from concerned Thunder Lake residents about the amount of late-night traffic coming from one or two properties.
Dodds said he is aware of the properties.
Earlier this year, he reached out to Barrhead area residents asking what they would like to see as priorities in the RCMP's Annual Performance Plan (APP).
The APP is a document that outlines the detachment's policing priorities. It is created with input from the municipal governments that it serves as part of its public engagement component.
In addition to those suggestions, he received several complaints or tips about suspicious activities at the properties.
"We started plugging away at it, gathering information, identifying property that was stolen and suspicious vehicles, and we have had some successes," Dodds said. "We charged one person with having stolen property along with some drug charges ... it is now before the courts."
Reeve Doug Drozd asked if a property like this would be a good use for the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) program.
The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act gives Alberta Sheriffs the authority to target problem properties through civil enforcement. It is also largely driven by public complaints.
"It is," Dodds replied. "The problem is SCAN units are based in Edmonton and even though they just doubled their capacity, they have a lot of territory to cover, but the sooner we get in line, the more likely a SCAN unit will come to Barrhead."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
