WESTLOCK - Person and property crimes in the Town of Westlock are down more than 20 per cent compared to the first 10 months of 2019, while other Criminal Code offences, like probation breaches, have fallen nearly 60 per cent and the total number of the Criminal Code offences have dropped more than 30 per cent.
During his monthly update with Town of Westlock councillors Nov. 23, Westlock RCMP Staff Sgt. Al Baird said they’re down 298 Criminal Code files from 2019 to 2020, pointing to break and enters (down 24 files), theft of motor vehicles (down 13) and theft under $5,000 (down 49) as positives considering detachments like Fort McMurray, Bonnyville, Cold Lake and St. Paul in the Eastern Alberta District have reported increases in property and person crimes.
Looking at 2017-2020, total Criminal Code offences are down nine per cent, while person crimes have risen by nine per cent, property crimes are up two per cent and other Criminal Code charges have been cut nearly in half at 44 per cent.
“I personally didn’t expect this big of a drop in the numbers. Six hundred and eighty-four (Criminal Code cases) was the lowest in 2017 and then it increased up to 918 in 2019 and now we’re down to 620, so we’re kind of on line with 2017,” Baird told councillors.
“The guys are working hard and we’re getting some good arrests, but I really didn’t expect it to go down this much. We’re seeing a decline right now, but as we saw before this pandemic we were seeing increases in town, but not in the county … it’s just the way it’s rolling right. I’m sure we’re going to see a more balanced number next year when it (the pandemic) gets under control.”
Coun. John Shoemaker asked Baird if Westlock could be in jeopardy of losing officers who would be deployed to other areas where crime is on the rise.
“I don’t think so, I don’t see that happening at all. I think a lot of this is related to COVID. Based on our numbers last year, which I say is more our true numbers, that is how we got the extra officers,” said Baird.
“I guess we’ll see what happens once the pandemic is over, but I think that’s playing a big part in numbers right now.”
Drug offences remain relatively static, with 24 files in 2020 versus 20 in 2019 —trafficking is up three fold, from five in 2019 to 15 in 2020. Reportable MVCs are down 20 per cent (69 versus 84), while false alarms are down by nearly 40 per cent.
And while the crime stats are uniformly down, reports of suspicious vehicles/persons is up 25 per cent over 2019 — 261 this year versus 209.
“That’s the highest it’s been in four years. Good buy-in from the community is helping.”
Limited hours
Due to increase COVID-19 numbers locally, the front office of the detachment began closing Tuesdays and Thursdays starting Nov. 19 — the closure remains in place for the foreseeable future.
Baird said the public can still call in and admin staff will answer any questions and determine if they can help via the phone, e-mail or fax.
“We’ll still have staff working, but we’re also reducing one staff member. They’re going to rotate — one staff will be off three days and then come back and someone else will go off,” said Baird.
“We’ll still be able to provide administrative services, but on those days we’ll be locked up at front and we’ll see if we can handle those matters or the phone. They’ll be available, it’s just a measure to reduce public contact and do our part for the safety of staff and members.
“We can’t lose members to COVID. If we lost two or three members for 14 days that would have a big impact on us. And we’d have to see a 30 per cent reduction in our staffing numbers before we’d get any help from Division.”
Baird also noted the detachment is fully staffed with himself at the top, two corporals and 10 constables — one constable is currently on non-COVID-19 related leave and they also have a new member, who’s worked a few shifts. The detachment is also in line for another admin staffer, as the RCMP have changed the ratio of officers to admin staff from 4:1 to 3:1.
“That leaves Westlock being owed one, but when that will be is unknown. But it is good news for us and will definitely help,” said Baird. “Anything we can do to lighten the load off members for administrative work and keep them on the road is good.”
