In the June 9, 2020 regular County Council meeting for the County of Wetaskiwin, the Council heard the Wetaskiwin, Thorsby and Breton RCMP June 2020 Quarterly Report.
RCMP representatives including Inspector Keith Durance Commanding Officer of the Wetaskiwin RCMP, Staff Sergeant Harp Dhaliwal Commanding Officer of the Breton and Thorsby RCMP, and Constable Trevor Walker of the Breton RCMP detachment presented their quarterly report and discussed the management of the Annual Performance Plan.
The Quarterly report for Wetaskiwin showed that from January to April 2020, in comparison to the same time frame in 2019, total criminal code offences are down by 19 per cent.
Wetaskiwin did see a 55 per cent spike in crime related to persons, including a 71 per cent increase in assaults for January through April since 2019.
There was also an increase in criminal harassment charges and two more arsons in 2020 between January and April, compared to the one in 2019 between those months, therefore a 200 per cent increase in arson cases this spring.
Property crime is down by 26 per cent for Wetaskiwin.
Council was also presented with the RCMP Annual Performance Plan for 2020/2021.
This plan includes four main priorities for the year:
1. Reduce and prevent property crime:
• Reduction of Break and Enters by seven per cent
• Clearance rates of select property crime of over 26 per cent
2. Accountability to Stakeholders:
• Hold a minimum of three crime suppression shifts
• Bike registration project
• Licence plate locking screw program
• Safe online meeting sales site
• Prolific offender management
3. Public Confidence and Engagement
• Hold a minimum of two town hall meetings in detachment areas
• Give Quarterly reports to Councils three times annually
4. Effective stewardship, financial and human resources:
• Have no less than two vacant positions in the Detachment
Insp. Durance reported to council that through the amalgamation of the Wetaskiwin and Camrose RCMP detachments, the Wetaskiwin detachment will be gaining two new members.
This July the Wetaskiwin RCMP will also be gaining two new cadets.