A quarter marked by the COVID-19 pandemic saw a downward trend in crime stats for Okotoks RCMP.
Staff Sgt. Zane Semaniuk, detachment commander, told Okotoks council Sept. 14 the statistics for the second quarter were positive compared to previous years.
“This may be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Semaniuk.
Property crimes trended downward 42 per cent over the same quarter in 2019 with 126 property-related calls for services compared to 216 calls last year, he said.
It’s a statistic Semaniuk didn’t expect.
“Property crime was a trend I believed was possibly going to go up in the quarter with our COVID-19 pandemic, however that did not occur, which was very positive to see in our community,” he said.
In addition, he said break-and-enters were down by 12 occurrences, from 18 calls by the end of the second quarter in 2019 and six in 2020. Other criminal code calls, including failure to comply, breach of court order, weapons offences and disturbing the peace decreased by 23 per cent, he said.
Some provincial statistics increased, resulting in an overall 19 per cent rise in provincial statutes over 2019, he said. These are also COVID-related in nature, as he said mental health calls fall under the provincial stats.
Domestic issues were also on the rise during the second quarter, he said.
“We dealt with more domestic violence in our calls to service, which were liquor-related,” said Semaniuk.
With many people not commuting or driving to extra-curricular or other activities, he said the number of motor collisions was notably lower than the previous year with a 58 per cent decrease.
The number of suspicious people in vehicles reported by citizens went up 38 per cent compared to 2019.
“This positive trend again shows community engagement, which continually strengthens the safety of our community,” said Semaniuk.
He said the biggest difference for Okotoks RCMP was how they operated in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, adapting to be mindful of the health and safety of residents and officers alike.
Many calls were done via telephone and digital platforms, he said.
“We had to adapt our service delivery model during these trying times to keep everyone healthy and safe, yet provide a quality service delivery,” said Semaniuk. “It was almost business-as-usual, just not in a usual way.”
Due to being careful about how business was conducted, he said the full complement of Okotoks’ 25 staff remain healthy and there have not been any positive cases of COVID-19 in the detachment.
Coun. Ed Sands said the statistics were encouraging, particularly in categories such as drug offences, which trended downward during the second quarter.
However, he noted some residents had approached him with concern over Okotoks RCMP officers being found at Tim Hortons every Sunday night.
“I had a resident approach me with a photograph of a number of cruisers, a number of cars, on a Sunday night over at a Tim Hortons in town. This becomes one of those cliché things, the police at Tim Hortons,” said Sands. “We want the police out in the community, but I’m not sure we want them to be at an identifiable location.”
Semaniuk said he would address what he referred to as a “double-edged sword” concern with his officers.
“From my perspective I don’t want to see all the cars there in one shot, so I’ll certainly address that here at my level,” he said.
Coun. Florence Christophers also raised an issue brought to her by residents, and one she has noticed now that her teen has friends souping-up their cars with loud mufflers.
She said most councillors have received communication from the public on the noise issue questioning whether there is anything the municipality can do.
“The problem is getting worse,” said Christophers. “It’s a trend because it’s cool, apparently. They’re actually taking their brand-new, perfectly good cars, taking them into shops to have them doctored to make them louder.
“I know people have been complaining and I wasn’t sure if that’s something we were looking into.”
Semaniuk said it’s a tricky issue the RCMP are aware of, but enforcement is difficult because it can be hard to nail down which vehicle the noise is coming from and there aren’t always licence plate numbers reported.
He said some of the RCMP officers who enjoy traffic enforcement have the amplified muffler issue on their radar.
“The biggest thing is if we can get people, when they do call in, to give us vehicle descriptions and plate numbers,” said Semaniuk. “That gives us a little more meat on the bone to work with, so to speak.”
Krista Conrad, OkotoksToday.ca
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