Westlock RCMP Staff Sgt. Al Baird presented his quarterly crime report to town council June 24, comparing statistics from the last several years and commenting on some of the frustrations they face when dealing with repeat offenders.
Baird told council that persons crimes like robbery, assault and harassment numbered about the same as last year at this point in the year, while property crimes such as break and enter, theft and possession of stolen goods were down by 57 files. This is due largely to a downturn in the amount of fraud charges laid, from 118 to 29.
Also of note is the mischief to property crimes that increased from 26 to 48 over this time last year.
“Crime going down is pretty much a provincial trend. Every now and then we do see a spike. We saw a spike in Westlock for a while, as opposed to rural, but that’s because this is the hub,” said Baird, adding there is still room for improvement. “We have an overall goal to try to reduce property crime numbers from 2018 by 10 per cent. It’s a pretty lofty goal, but that’s what we’re going to strive for. We’ll set our sights high.”
Baird said his detachment has been successful in keeping tabs on prolific offenders by making sure they adhere to the conditions of their release.
He did share the public’s and his own frustration with the problem of repeat offenders who make their way through the court system only to come out the other end to commit more crimes.
“We understand the frustrations that citizens and councils are going through when these guys are doing things over and over again. Once we catch them and put them before a justice of the peace our job is basically done, it is then up to the Crown and defense and the justice to decide what happens to that person,” said Baird.
“A lot of times we’re sitting there just as frustrated with it as the victims because we see it almost all the time, but that’s what we have to go by so we keep tabs on these guys because there is nothing else we can do.”
Coun. Murtaza Jamaly asked Baird to expand on his observations of how criminals are dealt with in the courts and Baird had a lot to say.
“The bane of our existence, the property crimes, are going to court and being dealt away with, which really frustrates the victims and frustrates us, but we don’t have control over that,” said Baird, adding that having only three court dates per month in Westlock is leading to charges being stayed, withdrawn and dismissed.
Jamaly also thanked Baird and his officers for their work during a recent incident at the Westlock McDonald’s drive-thru that saw a stolen truck ram two RCMP vehicles while officers tried to make an arrest.
“Members are doing very well. I always watch on social media to see what’s happening to kind of feel the temperature and for every comment that was a little bit negative, there were citizens that were very supportive,” said Baird.
He added that incidents of police vehicles being rammed are happening more frequently across the country.
“There was a day in my lifetime that may have been considered attempted murder of a police officer, now it’s becoming common” said mayor Ralph Leriger.
“We recognize that is you and your crew putting your lives at risk defending our community and it’s appreciated,” said Jamaly.
Said Baird: “There was a time when an assault on a police officer was basically an assault on the whole town because we represent the town and the people and now we’re seeing less and less sentences, so it does become frustrating, but it’s beyond the control of the police.”
“It’s something the province has to work out. There are many layers and it’s way beyond my pay grade. I know what I would like to see, but that is just my wish list.”
While recidivism and a lack of court time top the list of frustrations for the RCMP, Baird stressed it is also the responsibility of residents to report any crimes they suspect or they fall victim to.
“We still run into the problem of people not reporting and if they don’t report, we don’t know a crime has been committed. That is still prevalent, it has always been prevalent because people feel that nothing might be done and while there may not be much we can do at least having it brought out before us helps us to plan our patrols,”
Leriger noted that was a familiar refrain from Baird when he speaks to various groups and wondered if he was noticing a difference. Baird responded that just when he thinks it’s beginning to improve, he’ll learn of series of unreported crimes.
Case in point, Coun. Randy Wold said he was recently guilty of not reporting an incident after his vehicle was rummaged through when the doors were unintentionally left unlocked.
“I’m sorry, I’m one of the statistics. I got hit two weeks ago when my truck was ransacked and I didn’t come and report it because it wasn’t broken into, it was inadvertently left unlocked,” said Wold, who received a stern reminder from the mayor that those numbers are very important to catalogue.
