After being named one of the safest communities in the country to live, the Town of Okotoks continues to make strides in reducing crime.
Okotoks RCMP Staff Sgt. Zane Semaniuk provided council with an update on crime statistics and the detachment’s goals for the upcoming year at its Feb. 24 meeting.
“Overall the fourth quarter was very positive,” said Semaniuk.
Over the same period (October to December) in 2018, persons crimes were down 39 per cent and property crimes decreased 34 per cent, he said.
There was a 31 per cent increase in incidents of criminal code calls for service, including failure to comply and breaches of court orders, weapons offences, and disturbing the peace.
“This increase primarily comes from a 62 per cent increase in failure to comply or breach of court order, which actually is very positive,” said Semaniuk.
He said it means high visibility, offender management, and proactive work contribute to bringing in more offenders for these charges, which makes the community a safer place.
The public plays a role in these instances as well, he said. There was an upward trend of 15 per cent in the number of suspicious persons and vehicles reported compared to the fourth quarter of 2018, he said.
“Statistics trend up and down in policing and the residents of Okotoks provide a positive role in crime prevention,” said Semaniuk.
Okotoks protective services director Kelly Stienwand said the proactive nature of the detachment has made a big difference in the community.
Enhanced visibility has been a priority of both the RCMP and Okotoks Municipal Enforcement (OME) for the past year and he said seeing an increase in offences like breaches of conditions and generally being tougher on known offenders goes a long way.
“When you see increases in that area, in that proactive enforcement, that’s why you’re seeing decreases in property crimes, especially the ones like break-and-enter, theft of motor vehicles, which we’ve seen significant decreases in, where that’s not what’s going on around our province,” said Stienwand.
Semaniuk said the changes seen in the fourth quarter also translate to some of the annual statistics, with a four per cent overall decrease in total criminal code offences from January to December 2019 over the same time period in 2018.
There was also a 21 per cent decrease in persons crimes and a two per cent increase in property crimes, he said. Of those, he said the most notable property crimes were theft under $5,000 and theft of motor vehicles.
Decreasing the property crime instances in town will come from continuing education and awareness for the public, he said.
His greatest piece of advice for Okotoks residents remains the same: “Lock vehicles,” said Semaniuk.
The Okotoks RCMP is currently working with OME to develop public safety priorities, and invites the public to respond to its survey on community policing expectations.
To complete the survey visit https://www.okotoks.ca/RCMP-Survey.
