Red Deerians can head online to report crimes they have fallen victim to. (Nhu Nguyen)

By Troy Gillard and Josh Hall

online tool readily available

Red Deer RCMP encouraging citizens to report all crime

Oct 27, 2020 | 9:27 AM

Since launching online reporting for non-urgent crimes earlier this year, Red Deer RCMP say they’ve been getting about one report a day.

It was in June when City Mounties made it possible for Red Deerians to file an online report for crimes such as damage/mischief to property under $5,000, theft of bicycle under $5,000, theft under $5,000, theft from vehicle under $5,000 and lost property.

“These crimes must have occurred already, so you wake up and find that someone spray painted the side of your garage, or your car was left unlocked and all your spare change was taken,” says S/Sgt. Jay Peden. “It’s those types of small crimes for which you don’t have any suspects or witnesses where we want you to go use the online reporting tool.”

Among the advantages to citizens, Peden says residents can report from the comfort of their own home, and don’t have to wait in line at the detachment.

For members, Peden says it allows for better tracking of smaller crimes that often don’t get reported.

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During a phone survey The City of Red Deer conducted last February, 28 per cent of respondents said they did not report a crime they experienced because they felt it was petty or minor. That is up from 21 per cent in 2018.

“Reporting these will give us an idea of trends taking place within the city,” Peden adds. “We do have targeted patrols based on our analytics, and we can see if certain crimes are moving to another area of the city.”

For crimes in progress, residents are asked to call the RCMP complaint line at 403-343-5575, or 911 in emergency situations.

Incidents such as break and enters, hit and runs, and involving weapons, reports which they have received online, do in fact merit a call into the detachment, Peden adds.

“When individuals are reporting a crime online, it may take up to five days to be responded to by an RCMP member, but they are all looked at and reviewed.”