Detachment Commander Filipe Vicente noted that the detachment received approximately 170 fewer calls compared to the same period in 2023.
BARHEAD – Barrhead’s interim RCMP detachment commander, Corporal Filipe Vicente, gave town councilors good news and bad news at their May 14 meeting.
The good news is that crime is trending down overall. The bad news is that not all crime categories have decreased.
He said the detachment has noticed a significant drop in call volume in recent months compared to previous years.
Vicente examined the statistics of the “K” Division detachments and they confirmed what he suspected.
“Compared to the same period last year, the number of calls decreased by more than 100 from January to March, and from January 1 to date, the number of calls decreased by almost 170,” Vicente said. .
Unfortunately, although the overall number of cases is down, Barrhead RCMP reported an increase of about 20 crimes against persons (crimes committed directly against individuals rather than property) in 2024 compared to the same period last year. said Vincente, adding that sexual crimes in particular are on the rise.
From January to the end of March, police responded to eight sexual crimes (seven sexual assault accusations and one other sexual offense), compared to three sexual crimes for the same period last year. (1 case of sexual assault and 2 cases of other sexual crimes).
“A lot of sexual assaults are actually historical,” Vicente said. “We have a person who has been charged with multiple crimes in relation to multiple victims.”
Assault incidents also increased in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 2023, from 22 to 29.
Vicente said many of the assaults were similar to domestic violence.
The categories of criminal harassment and intimidation also increased slightly, from 4 to 6 cases and from 5 to 7 cases, respectively. Barrhead RCMP also handled two extortion cases and one kidnapping/hostage/kidnapping case for him.
Property crime decreased slightly
On the property side, police responded to 117 calls in the first three months of 2024, compared to 132 in the same period in 2023. Theft under $5,000 was the most common crime at 45, followed by fraud, trespassing and motor vehicle. The lowest category of property crimes are possession of stolen property, theft over $5,000, criminal damage to property, criminal mischief, and 5, 2, and 1 arson.
“A significant part of the decline in property crime is that some of the people who caused us problems in the past are no longer in the community or are now in prison,” Vicente said. .
Barrhead RCMP also saw a 23 per cent, or 10, decrease in charges for other criminal offenses involving offensive weapons, breach of the peace, failure to comply with a court order and other offenses in the first quarter of 2024 and 2023. The number of cases decreased from 44 cases in 2017 to 34 cases. In 2024, non-compliance was the most common, followed by obstruction of peace and offensive weapons with seven, three and two cases respectively.of canadian criminal law An offensive weapon is defined as a weapon that has the potential to cause harm to another person.
The number of drug enforcement filings also decreased slightly by two, from 10 in the first quarter of 2023 to eight in 2024, and the number of filings to the state, including legal offenses, decreased as well. alcohol, cannabis and mental health law, From 74 to 58.
But Vicente said the most dramatic decline was in the state’s number of traffic violations, which fell from 783 in the first quarter of 2023 to a corresponding 300 in 2024.
The detachment had been short of three members for a long time.
“That’s probably the main reason,” Vicente said, adding that members are active in patrols and doing traffic stops when they don’t respond to other calls. He also pointed out that the Westlock RCMP Traffic Detachment lost two members in the same time frame, which contributed to the lower statistics. Vicente said RCMP members from other detachments were brought in to fill the gap, but they were not able to be as proactive as police would have liked.
He noted that a lack of traffic stops also contributed to the decline in other categories under state law.
“When our members make a traffic stop, we may see open bottles of liquor, drugs or even weapons,” Vicente said.
detachment approaches full strength
He added that the detachment is near full strength, falling just short of its permanent commander, previously announced Sergeant Johnson. Colin Hack.
Huck is the acting commander of the state’s K-9 unit and plans to arrive in Barrhead as soon as the house sells. If the house doesn’t sell quickly, Vicente said. Huck is considering commuting from nearby Parkland County.
county. Rod Klumph, Student Resource Officer (SRO) Const. Karen Vicente also contributed to the reduction in crime statistics.
“Interacting and having that connection with police officers at the school level is bound to have some positive impact on our community,” he said.
Vicente said firmly. In addition to school presentations, SROs can often intervene before a situation escalates to the point where formal police involvement is required.
“Some of our members are unaware of the work the SRO is doing until they learn that their work and intervention prevented the creation of three or four additional files,” he said. said. “know [the Westlock Detachment] I’ve been pleading with the school resource officer and it looks like I finally got approval. ”
