Alberta crime rates down
As property crime continues to be a leading concern for many Albertans, the Alberta RCMP continues to focus on its Crime Reduction Strategy – an intelligence led approach to policing that enables RCMP to identify repeat offenders and crime trends, as well as conduct targeted enforcement and prevention initiatives.
Over the past year, the organization’s strategy had notable success in the strategy, and has recorded improved crime rates across the province.
“The Alberta RCMP recognizes that crime rates inevitably fluctuate, rising and declining over time,” says Superintendent Peter Tewfik, Officer in Charge, Alberta RCMP Crime Reduction Strategy. “While the nature of crime cannot be controlled, the RCMP can account for the plans it has in place to manage it. As Alberta’s provincial police force, we are confident that our Crime Reduction Strategy is making an impact and yielding positive results.”
Included in the RCMP’s Crime Reduction Strategy are initiatives such as Data 2 Action, a program that focuses resources on the province’s most vulnerable communities, targeting prevalent crime types in those areas.
Two years ago the program launched and has since grown, now overseen at a district level, allowing Data 2 Action to be implemented in more communities throughout Alberta.
The Alberta RCMP operates Crime Reduction Units in all four districts of the province which consist of experiences police officers, criminal analysts and civilian staff specialized in targeting repeat offenders who impact the communities most.
After the realization that certain rural properties were repeatedly being targeted for crime, Project Lock Up was launched under the Crime Reduction Strategy in 2019. This collaborative, intelligenceled program allows RCMP and citizens to work together to respond to repeat victims of property crime. From March 2019 to April 2020, the number of top-targeted properties dropped by 55.4 per cent, contributing to a substantial decrease in repeat victimizations.
In 2020, the Alberta RCMP saw improved crime trends throughout the province. From January through December 2020, there was a 17 per cent decrease in break and enters compared to 2019, and a 19 per cent decrease in theft of motor vehicles. Theft under $5,000 also decreased by 22 per cent, with 7,852 fewer cases reported than the previous year. Overall, there were 14,230 fewer property crime offences and 21,285 fewer Total Crime Code offences in 2020.
Albertans are able to stay informed about crime areas in their area by accessing the Alberta RCMP Crime Map at CrimeStoppers.ab.ca, or by visiting rcmp-grc.gc.ca to see statistics and information on policing initiatives throughout the province.