(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Q4 Crime Statistics

City council adopts 2022-2024 Annual Policing Plan for Red Deer

Jun 20, 2022 | 9:36 PM

City council formally adopted Red Deer’s 2022-2024 Annual Policing Plan (APP) at Monday’s meeting.

The plan was developed jointly between The City and Red Deer RCMP, and outlines the community’s top policing priorities for the next two years.

“The 2022-2024 Annual Policing Plan demonstrates our commitment to supporting our community needs with a localized policing strategy,” said Mayor Ken Johnston. “I am grateful for our partnership with the RCMP and am confident they will develop effective strategies and tactics to address each area.”

The 2022-2024 APP addresses three priorities for Red Deer policing, with each providing an area of focus for police, as well as specific goals within each area:

1. Police response and visibility:

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• Enhance Response to Mental Health
• Provide Enhanced Community Education & Communications
• Increase Feelings of Safety in the Downtown and trail systems
• Improve Road Safety

2. Crime reduction:

• Reduce All Types of Property Crime
• Develop Crime Prevention Initiatives
• Member Training and Development

3. Engaging community members:

• Develop a Diversity & Inclusion Strategy
• Increase Youth Diversion
• Improve relationship with Justice Partners

“The priorities in the new APP really speak to the challenges we are seeing in Red Deer and will drive a localized strategy to address the community’s concerns,” said Superintendent Holly Glassford, Officer in Charge for the Red Deer RCMP.

The City and RCMP worked together to develop the plan, which included public consultations done in February 2022. Targeted focus groups, as well as public and internal surveys receiving hundreds of responses were used to gather input about community and members’ experiences and feelings of safety in Red Deer.

Other findings, according to Red Deer RCMP, were that residents wanted to see changes in the justice system to support convictions and to remove inappropriate case load from officers.

“It was a wonderful opportunity to hear the public’s experiences and concerns,” said Glassford. “We took what we heard from the public and from our members, coupled with real crime statistics, and used that information to form the policing priorities you see here today.”

Some of the main crime statistics from January 1 – March 31, 2022 (Q4) Glassford presented to council included the following:

• Total Persons Crimes: 622 (660 in 2021)
• Total Property Crime: 2,642 (2,380 in 2021)
• Break and Enter: 271 (207 in 2021)
• Theft of Motor Vehicle: 323 (153 in 2021)
• Total Criminal Code: 4,096 (3,964 in 2021)

Glassford also discussed the results of the 2020-2022 APP priorities, as well as the Alberta RCMP app and the Body Worn Camera program.

The 2022-2024 Annual Policing Plan is available to the public on the City website at www.reddeer.ca/APP. The What We Heard Report outlining feedback from public consultations is also available for review.