The hard work that goes into policing communities like Athabasca, Boyle and the surrounding area cannot be understated.
Local police officers are challenged to serve a broad swath of northern Alberta, often having to answer calls on opposite ends of the map in one shift.
As stretched as they are, they do a great job of fulfilling their mandate of protecting and serving local residents.
Sgts. Brian Scott and Kevin McGillivray, the respective detachment commanders for the Athabasca and Boyle branches of the RCMP, recently delivered their quarterly reports to Athabasca County council.
In those reports, it was revealed that crime rates are up in the Town of Athabasca, while they are down in the Village of Boyle.
The commanders also reported that both of their detachments are currently operating short handed.
There are any number of factors that go into the rise and fall of crime rates; the rise of them doesn’t mean police are doing a poor job, or that a community is becoming overrun by criminals. Similarily, a declining crime rate doesn’t guarantee a municipality is heading towards a crime-free future.
It is an unfortunate fact of human nature that there will always be people willing to break the law to get what they want, do what they want and hurt who they want. With crime stories often leading in newspapers and on television, it can seem like crime is everywhere and there are few law abiding citizens left, but that is untrue. If anything, criminals are the minority, and peaceful law abiding citizens represent the silent majority.
But when the time comes to deal with the unruly minority of criminals that make life (at best) inconvenient and (at worst) dangerous for everyone else, we are blessed to have dedicated and courageous law enforcement officers ready to do their duty.
We owe them gratitude for their vigilance, especially during the holidays.
