(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Alessia Proietti

October - December 2022

Red Deer sees decrease in almost all categories of crime in third quarter

Feb 7, 2023 | 10:19 AM

Almost all crime statistics categories in Red Deer have decreased from October to December 2022 compared to the previous year, according to the RCMP’s Quarterly Community Policing Report.

The report shows all categories of crimes, except for Municipal Bylaws and Motor Vehicle Collisions, have shown decreases in the third quarter, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, compared to last Q3.

According to Superintendent Holly Glassford, Officer in Charge for Red Deer’s RCMP, property crime statistics have seen a 20 per cent decrease in Q3 compared to last year. Additionally, she said January 2022 saw 86 fewer motor vehicle thefts compared to the previous year.

Glassford says she believes the downward trend is also due to the community coming together to diligently report to police rather than solely relying on them.

“We know the days when our crime stats were not in this direction and it takes a tremendous team but it also takes a tremendous leader of a team to be able to inspire them and to carry out the work that you do and our community owes you a debt of gratitude,” said Mayor Ken Johnston.

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On a more specific level, extortion was one of the few crimes that saw an increase, by 300 per cent, compared to both last year’s quarter and to that of 2018. In Q3 of 2022, there were 12 reported cases whereas in 2021 and 2018 there was only three. Glassford says this is due to the number of reported senior scams that she says may see a further increase as people begin to come forward.

READ: $1.1 million lost in Alberta due to “grandparent scams” in 2022: report

Fraud as well, saw a 15 per cent increase in 2022, 260 cases, compared to the year before, 226 cases.

Regarding the downtown, Glassford says their patrol unit is doing well and may benefit from a newly mobile Overdose Prevention Site, allowing flexibility for the downtown unit to pivot to different areas.

READ: Red Deer’s overdose prevention site going mobile; AHS taking over from Turning Point

She says she hope to double their Police and Crisis Team (PACT), currently at two teams, each made up of one police officer and one psychiatric nurse to handle specific calls with medical expertise on hand. Glassford confirmed she has officers ready for when Alberta Health Services and the Primary Care Network find two more nurses for the teams.

While drug trafficking statistics show a decrease of 61 per cent from last Q3, Glassford said these numbers show more that the RCMP is working on longer busts that require more investigation time.

Finally, Glassford introduced the new Operations Officer, Sergeant Brock Linaker, filling her previous position. Originally from a detachment in British Columbia, Linaker says he wanted to work in Red Deer when he began his career 25 years ago and is happy to join the team.