Crime rate continues to drop in the County of Grande Prairie say enforcement officials
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Law enforcement officials say the crime rate in the County of Grande Prairie continues to drop.
People from the RCMP and Regional Enforcement Services made presentations to Council Monday.
Staff Sargent Neal Fraser is with the Grande Prairie Rural RCMP. He says while most categories of criminal offences are down slightly from last year, assaults are up slightly.
“Probably about 15 percent or thereabouts. Many of those are domestic assaults. As far as attributing a specific cause, in any given assault, liquor is a factor in many, if not the lion’s share.”
Fraser says he likes to think crime reduction initiatives from police are pushing down the crime rate.
Constable Brennan Gobel with the Grande Prairie RCMP Crime Reduction Unit says just because the crime rate is going down doesn’t mean there isn’t work that can be done to bring it down more.
“That’s what me and my team are here for and that’s what we’re working towards. This summer, we’re focusing on drug traffickers, on vehicle thieves and property thieves and doing everything in our ability to try and stop them.”
Gobel says a lot of crime is connected, as they often find other stolen property inside of stolen vehicles.
Manager of Regional Enforcement Services Stu Rempel says while criminal activity is dropping, the number of tickets being issued has gone up.
” (With) the number of vehicles on the road, the violations that we encountered were up. But, that’s not crime, that’s just good people sometimes doing bad (things), speeding, stop sign violations, seat belts, distracted driving. That does concern us because they are traffic safety matters.”
Rempel says with warmer weather and more hours of daylight, plus an improved economy, enforcement people are preparing for a busier time this summer.
He adds people should keep vehicles locked, keep valuables out of sight, and should report all crimes even if they don’t think they will be solved, as that can help identify problem areas.
