Rural residents amplify call to defend property
RCMP official rejects SARM’s push for relaxed property-defence law
An impassioned plea for more relaxed property defence laws was made by a concerned rural resident at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities mid-term convention Wednesday.
Worried about slow police response times if he and his family were approached by “hoodlums” in their yard with the nearest RCMP detachment 70 miles away, the man called on Curtis Zablocki, assistant commissioner of the RCMP’s F Division in Saskatchewan, to declare his support.
“Would you support a stand your ground law as is enforced in the state of Montana?” asked the man. His question was followed by a loud round of applause from fellow attendees.
The Montana law states a person is justified to use force or threaten to use force against another if they reasonably believe it is necessary for self defence. It also states that a person is justified in using force likely to cause death or serious harm only if they reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily harm to the person.
Zablocki, who was taking questions after giving a talk on rural policing, said while he understands the man’s concerns, expanding rights to protect property is questionable.
“We would have concerns about bringing firearms to those situations. We know that type of a response can often up the potential for violence in those types of situations,” said Zablocki.
Instead, he said the best way to deal with a situation like that is to call 911, seek immediate response and secure yourself and your family as best as possible until help arrives.
“I don’t think it’s our position that we want the justice system to enforce that,” SARM president Ray Orb said in reference to the stand-your-ground law. “But I think it’s just going back to the resolution that we had last year, (which) was to better enhance your property rights to be able … to protect your family and your farm.”
Delegates voted 93 per cent in favour of the resolution, which was introduced at the SARM annual convention in March, seven months after 22-year-old Colten Boushie was shot and killed in a farmyard near Biggar.
Orb said the resolution can stand for up to five years and despite strong opposition from the Ministry of Justice when it was first introduced in the spring, still hopes it will gain some traction.
He also said rural residents could benefit from more education on what their existing rights are when it comes to defending their property.
According to Zablocki, rural property crime is down 10 per cent compared to last year but violent crimes in RCMP jurisdictions are up seven per cent, with the exception of homicide rates, which are down 25 per cent.
He said the RCMP has been working on several strategies to try and address ongoing issues of response times and police visibility — which are inherent challenges to rural policing — and believes some progress has been made.
“We’re seeing some improvements, but you know what, we still have I think a long ways to go,” said Orb. “We think that the response time should be shortened and we’re hoping that this new Protection and Response Team will alleviate some of that.”
The province announced the PRT in August, but it is still being put together. Once ready, it will be made up of 258 armed officers across Saskatchewan and will focus on reducing response times, enhancing visibility in rural areas, increasing drug trafficking enforcement and reducing serious collisions.