ATHABASCA – Crime stats are continuing to trend downward in the Athabasca detachment area with a 33 per cent difference in number of Criminal Code files in the second quarter of 2020 and 2021.
Athabasca RCMP Staff Sgt. Mark Hall paid his first physical visit to Athabasca town council Nov. 2, after speaking via Zoom with the prior council before the Oct. 18 municipal election. He also brought along Const. Jay Tessier.
This time he delivered his quarterly report for the detachment, discussed some of his goals as the new detachment commander and took questions from councillors, who are also settling into their new positions.
Between the months of July and September of 2020, detachment members dealt with 447 Criminal Code files, compared to just 301 over the same period in 2021. Person crimes fell 10 per cent from 90 to 81; property crimes fell 35 per cent from 248 to 160l and other Criminal Code files fell 45 per cent from 109 to 60.
Hall attributed a portion of the decrease in person crimes to the actions being taken to address repeat offenders and enforcing court-imposed conditions, while the decrease in property crimes is likely due to cabin owners checking on their properties and enhanced policing in in hot spot areas.
There has also been a sharp decrease in Criminal Code traffic files from 33 to 14, which Hall attributed to a recent change to the use of provincial sanctions instead of federal ones under the Criminal Code. Vehicle collisions are up though, about 10 per cent, from 86 instances to 95. He also noted a 164 per cent increase in municipal bylaw enforcement, from 11 to 29, mostly due to noise and vehicle complaints.
Hall arrived in Athabasca at the beginning of September and got right to work on familiarizing himself with the priorities identified by the previous council — drug abuse in general and property crime.
“I've had a few meetings with individuals on different topics in the community to find out what's really going on and what we are focusing on, and it has definitely been highlighted that we are looking at some property crime issues and some drug issues,” Hall said, adding he is hoping to arrange for a town hall meeting sometime in November for further public consultation.
Councillors inquired about well-documented problems related to the area’s unhoused population, the lack of a shelter or MAT program this year, and about domestic violence prevention and community organizations like PRAAC and THRIVE, the Athabasca Native Friendship Centre and the Athabasca Cares Community Housing Society.
Coun. Dave Pacholok concluded the presentation asking if Athabasca figures were much different than any other community in the province. Hall confirmed they were not.
“Every community has its issues, but there's nothing in here that strikes me as out of the ordinary,” he said.
October RCMP Report
Athabasca RCMP Detachment members responded to 306 calls for service to start off the new quarter including a child custody stand-off at a hotel in Grassland that resulted in the arrest of two women; an instance of a public incitement of hatred in Calling Lake after a man allegedly hurled racial slurs at children walking on Orange Shirt Day; and a criminal harassment complaint regarding the theft and vandalism of an Athabasca County candidate’s election signs — no charges have been laid in relation to the latter two.
Those were some of the highlights from the detachment area in the month of October, said Const. Jay Tessier Oct. 28. Of the more serious crimes, two arsons were investigated and there was aggravated assault that took place, using bear spray, along with six other assaults (three domestic), and seven break and enters, two of which were to local businesses.
In addition, there were six mischief complaints and two each of fraud under $5,000, theft under $5,000 and disobeying a court order, along with one flight from police charge. Officers also spent their time responding to numerous public disturbance complaints, one nudity on public call and eight mental health calls.
On the traffic side, members took three impaired drivers off the road, responded to three separate hit-and-runs and caught seven other speeders.
Members also responded to 16 911 hang-ups and nine false alarms over the course of the month, along with numerous calls of firearms being discharged, almost exclusively in Calling Lake.
