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By Sheena Roszell

RCMP following up on recent Facebook claims of harassment of the homeless

Aug 24, 2018 | 5:45 PM

A recent Facebook post from the St. Lawrence Centre claims people from their facility as well as the Rotary House have been lured into vehicles and harassed for information about stolen bikes and break-ins.

Superintendent Don McKenna, Officer in Charge of the Grande Prairie Detachment says they haven’t received an official complaint on the matter, but they’re looking into it.

“If this is actually true, it was very poorly thought out.”

He explains if you lure someone into a vehicle, and don’t let them out when they want out, that is a crime.

McKenna says they would never use information provided to them in a vigilante way.

“It would be of absolutely no value and on top of that, they’re the ones who would actually be in trouble.”

To combat crime, McKenna says recently local RCMP have been targeting areas where they’ve had reports of thefts.  Car thefts and break and enters have gone up, while other smaller petty crimes and mischief have decreased. 

Although he admits the homeless population has definitely increased locally, McKenna says they’re not always the ones responsible for the crime. Recently three 14-year-olds were arrested after a series of break and enters.  Mckenna says they were just kids and they had nothing to do with the homeless population.

So, what can the public do to help the situation? McKenna suggests joining neighbourhood associations or groups like Rural Crime Watch.

“And of course, other groups like the St. Lawrence Centre, and one of the many Rotary clubs we have, there are lots of places or outlets for people if they want to make our community better.” 

 

by Sheena Roszell