Lacombe County’s Rural Crime Resolution supported by Rural Municipalities of Alberta

LACOMBE COUNTY- The County’s Rural Crime Resolution was brought forward and supported during the 2018 Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) Spring Convention last week.

The Rural Crime Resolution speaks to the frustrations and shortcomings felt by rural residents, and calls for a review of the justice system and sentencing reforms to address repeat offenders, as well as identifying new strategies and initiatives at federal and provincial levels to prevent rural crime.

“Rural residents are tired of being targeted in their own homes by criminals and feel that their hands are tied as to how to defend themselves,” said Deputy Reeve and Division 5 Councillor Ken Wigmore, who presented the resolution at the convention on March 20. “The current ‘catch and release’ of offenders isn’t working and things won’t improve until we address the issues in our justice system and come up with a better solution.”

The RMA is urging the provincial government, along with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, to request that the provincial and federal governments continue with the review of the criminal justice system and sentencing reforms to get repeat offenders off the street for longer periods of time.