With the helicopter hovering over Westlock, the road spikes in their place and the police dogs deployed, the RCMP’s province-wide Crime Reduction Unit took two alleged criminals off the streets Sept. 1 and laid 37 charges against the two individuals.
That’s two of more than 500 arrests and 37 of more than 1,600 charges laid since February, when the government unveiled its Rural Crime Prevention Program, which included a seven-point action plan and $10 million for more RCMP, civilian staff and Crown prosecutors in rural areas.
Alberta RCMP have since touted an 11 per cent drop in rural property crimes since the beginning of 2018, excluding fraud, mischief and arson.
We now have recent statistics and first-hand evidence that the government’s plan to combat rural crime is working, but let’s not go patting each other on the backs just yet. We should give the government and the RCMP credit where credit is due, but there’s still a long, arduous way to go.
The Westlock Crime Watch page on Facebook certainly doesn’t show this reduction. There’s new scams and break-ins and stolen vehicles reported every day. Sitting in provincial court all day doesn’t really give one hope things are turning around either.
If you ask residents of the county whether they’ve noticed a drop in the crime rate recently, especially those who have been previously victimized, sometimes numerous times, their resounding reply is overwhelmingly negative.
Many still contemplate about taking matters into their own hands, as per the comments on Facebook, which would likely lead to more serious criminal charges of their own. Shoot, shovel and shut up is not a wise, or practical approach.
Hundreds of studies over the years have found poverty, poor mental health, addictions and crime are inextricably linked. Undoubtedly for some, poverty leads to mental states which can lead to substance abuse which leads to addiction, which can then lead to crime, which leads to worse employment prospects. Ask anyone with a drug offence on their rap sheet how easy it is to find a job, even if they have turned their life around.
So the government can keep throwing money at the problem, which granted, is making a small dent, or it can start working on the real issues. We have to be in this for the long haul or very little will actually change.
