Property crimes continue to increase in the City according to Red Deer’s 2016 crime statistics.
The report shows break and enters increased to 1,436 reported incidents in 2016 from 1,134 reported incidents in 2015. As well, theft under $5,000 also saw an increase with 6,339 reports in 2016 as opposed to 5,478 in 2015.
Other property crimes which saw an increase include possession of stolen goods – 1,137 incidents were reported in 2016, up from 907 reports in 2015.
Fraud is also on the rise with 1,007 reports in 2015 and 1,312 in 2016 as is mischief to property which saw 3,984 reports in 2015 and 4,406 in 2016.
The 2016 crime statistics coupled with an update on the 2016-2017 Annual Policing Plan (APP) do show a slight decrease in persons crimes, and traffic collisions in both injury and property damage categories in 2016.
“In the final quarter of 2016, there was a significant decrease in robberies as compared to the same time frame in 2015, from 64 down to 39,” said Supt. Ken Foster, officer in charge at Red Deer RCMP detachment.
“While the overall numbers are similar to last year, we are encouraged to see this notable decrease in the final quarter. RCMP will continue to target those career criminals responsible for property crimes and robberies through Project Pinpoint, increased downtown enforcement and warrant round-ups.”
From April 6th, 2016 to Jan. 10th, 2017, Red Deer RCMP conducted 1,116 checks on targeted people, places and criminal patterns, including 325 identified people on parole and/or probation and 132 more career criminals with an active history of property crime.
Preliminary analysis shows at least 394 charges have been laid specific to Project Pinpoint targets during this time period, with more pending; more than 240 warrants have been executed.
The implementation of Project Pinpoint was identified as a priority in the 2016-2017 APP, along with monitoring high-risk domestic offenders, youth, road safety and organized crime.
The APP objectives and measures for success are developed each year by Red Deer RCMP in conjunction with City council and the City of Red Deer, and the numbers for the first nine months show RCMP exceeding all APP targets.
“Community safety and crime reduction have been identified as the top priority by our public. In response to community concern, City council has been actively working with City staff, the RCMP and community agencies to elevate our local enforcement and crime prevention efforts,” said Mayor Tara Veer.
“We have begun to see reductions in organized and persons crime, through the enforcement priorities in our local APP. We know, however, we still have substantial work to do, specifically with respect to property theft.
“Council recently met with Deputy Commissioner Marianne Ryan of K Division and will be having subsequent discussions to ensure local concerns of our citizens are addressed. We have identified the need to focus on reducing local property crimes and improve response to non-urgent calls to police, in addition to the ongoing efforts to reduce organized and persons crime. As always, we strongly encourage Red Deerians to report all crime to the RCMP,” said Veer.
The RCMP crime statistics compare the time period from Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st over five years, from 2012-2016. The APP follows the RCMP fiscal year from April 1st to March 31st annually, and this update covers the time period from Oct. 1st to Dec. 31st.
efawcett@reddeerexpress.com
