Superintendent Gerald Grobmeier with Red Deer RCMP told city council Monday that crime stats went down in quarter two despite the increase in the first six months of the year. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

LATEST CRIME NUMBERS

Crime remains well up over last year, but is trending downward in Red Deer

Jul 22, 2019 | 8:40 PM

Crime rates in Red Deer remain well up from last year, but are trending in the right direction according to the latest stats from Red Deer RCMP.

Year-to-date crime in our city is up 20 per cent from the first half of 2019. Persons crimes are up 12%, property crimes a stark 26%, and “other” crimes are up by 10%.

However, property crime was down by 15 per cent in April-June of this year from January-March. Total criminal code cases were down seven per cent.

Red Deer RCMP Superintendent Gerald Grobmeier, who shared the numbers with city council on Monday, acknowledges the first quarter of 2019 was very bad, but says the reductions in Q2 show the right things are being done to deter crime.

Crime stats update (Source: Red Deer RCMP)

Pitch ideas

Central Alberta entrepreneurs take part in Catalyst Incubator program

2h ago

numerous incidents

QEII Highway very icy Monday morning

6h ago

"unprecedented levels of discrimination"

Ponoka Pride Society dissolves, citing limited resources

6h ago

“When people are comfortable with the police force that they call in, (knowing) that they will be heard and something will be done, or at least the data will be taken to be analyzed, then your numbers go up,” he says, adding that response times are much better than in places like Calgary where they promise a call back within 48 hours.

Grobmeier believes criminals are feeling more empowered when it comes to entering vehicles and properties not their own.

“The brazenness stems from not whether they’ll be caught, it’s about there not being any real consequences for getting caught. The need for their drug far outweighs any punishment they may receive. Getting caught is just not an issue for them,” he surmises.

“They’ll steal stuff and they might not stop because you’re there, but the majority aren’t dangerous. But it’s still that perception; if someone is in your backyard, that’s an invasion of your kingdom, your sanctity, and I don’t disagree with that at all. We have to be neighbours again. We’ve gotten away from that.”

A number of crime prevention efforts recently initiated by Red Deer RCMP were also noted for their growing success, including the #9PMRoutine, Garage 529, the CAPTURE camera registry, and crime mapping.

“The safety challenges facing our community are significant, and require both immediate and long-term solutions,” says Mayor Tara Veer.

“Council remains committed to ensuring Red Deer is a safe and secure community for all citizens, and we will continue to prioritize community safety until we achieve our desired outcomes. We strongly encourage citizens to continue to report all crime to ensure that we have an accurate picture of local crime levels and respond effectively to it.”

The latest IPSOS Citizen Satisfaction Survey showed satisfaction with Red Deer RCMP dropped from 82 per cent in 2018 to 79 per cent this year.

It’s a slight drop, but one Grobmeier still takes seriously.

“Any agency doesn’t want to see their satisfaction rate go down, but it is still a pretty good number,” he notes.

“I don’t want those numbers going down, they should be going up. With the work we were able to accomplish these last two years going from a completely reactive police force to one that’s extremely proactive, data and intelligence-led, a leader in Alberta, those are things we should be celebrating.”