Rural crime is a big concern across Alberta, especially for residents in the Westlock area.
Don’t believe us? Talk with someone living in the country, or take a gander at some of the online crime-watch pages and you’ll quickly gain a new perspective.
Our Page 1 story in this week’s Town & Country focuses on the United Conservative Party’s A Safer Alberta report, which was released July 4.
The 21-page document contains scores of recommendations and was crafted from feedback received at dozens of town-hall meetings. For it, the UCP say they analyzed the most recent crime stats, reviewed relevant legislation and policies and interviewed law enforcement.
And no matter your political leanings, the fact that rural crime is on someone’s agenda and at least being paid lip service to is welcomed.
Many of the ideas presented in the document, like requiring an annual report to the Legislature on crime statistics, the creation of a Victims’ Ombudsman Office and improving public awareness of the rights and responsibilities of property owners, make sense.
But others, like working with police to improve investigations and public education campaigns on what emergency lines to call, are things already being done. And a few, such as lobbying the federal government to change the Criminal Code, sound unrealistic and expensive.
One thing lacking from the UCP’s plan is hiring more police officers. We all know you can’t get from a farm up by Fawcett to a residence near Vimy in any reasonable length of time.
So the NDP can at least take credit for agreeing with the Official Opposition and including a strategy to fight crime in its 2018 budget. Among other things, they’ve hired 59 more police officers and RCMP say the extra staff have already made a difference.
And while we’re certain that isn’t enough, it’s definitely a start.
Ultimately, the folks who’ve had their truck repeatedly stolen, or are dealing with the umpteenth time their out buildings have been broken into don’t care about who comes up with the plan to fight rural crime. They just want something done.
And that’s a cause all politicians should be fighting for.
