WESTLOCK - Westlock RCMP Staff Sgt. Al Baird is undeterred after receiving zero response from a two-week online/written campaign to garner public feedback on policing issues.
From Sept. 21 to Oct. 5 the RCMP had asked the public to chime in on any policing issues or concerns. Unlike the previous year, when a town-hall style meeting had been arranged with Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken to specifically address rural crime, the public were asked to reply by e-mail, or by sending in a letter.
“I thought we would get a lot of questions and some responses, but maybe people weren’t comfortable submitting stuff that way,” opined Baird Oct. 15. “But at the same time we’ve tried to put the message out about crime prevention — specifically about calling in suspicious vehicles and as our stats show, people have been calling in and those numbers are down, so in that sense that’s positive. Maybe people are seeing more positive outcomes by calling in all the time and helping direct our patrols.”
Regardless of the lack of feedback, Baird said they remain committed to hearing concerns from the community as a return to a town-hall style meeting will depend entirely on COVID-19.
“We want to keep the communication up. Even though the survey is over if people have questions or concerns, they can call us and we can talk to them one-on-one. Who knows how long this pandemic will last and what the restrictions will be going forward,” he said.
And all that said, Baird still wants to remind people that the best way of preventing crimes of opportunity is to make it harder for thieves. He pointed to the crime map available as a link on the town, county and village websites as a good place for people to see what’s going on crime wise in the area.
“There was a stat that in 2017 in Alberta 34 vehicles a day were reported stolen and half of those had their keys inside. That can sometimes be a challenge of rural policing — everybody knows each other. We need to make sure people are locking their equipment up, locking their doors and storing their keys away from their vehicles to help prevent thefts. Times have changed,” he said.
“The crime mapping is a good tool and makes it easy for people to see where crime is happening and allows them to be more vigilant — it’s just another way for people to stay informed. That’s what we’re trying to do, let people know what we’re doing and to keep the lines of communication open.
“Prevention is the key … it’s easier than us trying to solve the crime afterwards. Groups like Citizen on Patrol are invaluable to us, that’s another way to help prevent crime and take an active part. It really takes the whole community to chip in and to help prevent and deter crime.”
