Annual report shows busy year for Lacombe Police Service

For the Lacombe Police Service, 2016 can be described as a very exciting, albeit very busy year.

In their 2016 Annual Report presented to city council on Monday, LPS reported an 11 per cent increase in service calls over 2015, which is nine per cent higher than the five-year average.

When it comes to the types of calls they are getting, LPS saw noted increases the areas of property crimes and family disputes. Chief Lorne Blumhagen said in his report summary, “This may be in whole or in part attributed to the economic downturn in our province.”

While traffic collisions in Lacombe were down by 15 per cent overall, there was one fatality collision last year and a 17 per cent increase in the number of injury collisions, 25 per cent of which involved cyclists or pedestrians. Moving forward, Lacombe police say they will be focusing on reduction, enforcement and education strategies at high collision locations and pedestrian crossings in an effort to reduce those numbers.