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Annual Report shows persons crimes down, frauds spike in Lacombe

May 15, 2018 | 10:08 AM

Last year was a busy one for the Lacombe Police Service.

In the 2017 Annual Report presented to Lacombe city council on Monday, Chief Lorne Blumhagen says the number of calls for service they received last year rose 18 percent over 2016 and 19 percent above the past five-year average.

“We are happy to report that decreases were noted in the areas of Property Crimes (-22%) and Family Disputes (-11%) which had seen substantial increases in 2016,” Blumhagen noted in the report.

Overall persons crimes in Lacombe were down 30 percent in 2017.

One area that saw a significant increase was frauds (247%). Blumhagen says the spike was the result of an increase in reported telephone and internet types of frauds which will be an area of focus for crime prevention forward.

Impaired driving charges were up 24 percent last year, drug charges rose 18 percent, and the number of break and enters increased by 23 percent.

When it comes to traffic safety, overall collisions were up by 11 percent, but there were no fatal collisions and injury collisions were down 27 percent.

“In 2017 a focus was placed on reduction, enforcement and education strategies at high collision locations and pedestrian crossings,” Blumhagen noted.

2017 marked the first full year for the Lacombe Police Service in their new police station along Wolf Creek Drive.

New localized dispatch was also a significant milestone with Blumhagen saying they achieved a higher level of customer service and reduced call response times, assisting in their ability to apprehend offenders and increase clearance rates.

Lacombe Police Service also received a clean audit from the Solicitor General’s office last spring.

LPS is comprised of 20 sworn police officers, eight civilian support staff, and three casual civilian support staff.