ATHABASCA — Property crimes like break and enter, stolen vehicles, and theft were down across the Athabasca detachment area in the latter months of 2024, thanks to consistent efforts to manage repeat offenders in the area, according to local RCMP.
Staff Sgt. Mark Hall was joined by acting Cpl. Amy Prescott in town council chambers Mar. 4 to provide municipal leaders with an update on policing priorities and statistics from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2024.
“We’re on track to exceed the targets we’ve set to reduce the number of break and enters throughout the whole area, so the things that we’re doing out here are really, really working and the community getting behind us had been a really big help as well.”
Break and enters were the detachment’s first priority; 27 were reported for the three-month period, bringing the year-to-date total to 113. With the fourth quarter currently underway, Hall and officers are hoping to keep the year-end total below their goal of 150.
Two of the 27 break and enters took place within the town's limits, with the rest occurring across the detachment area, which stretches north to Calling Lake and Jean Baptiste Gambler First Nation, and as far south as Rochester.
“In 2023 in the same time period, we had 56 reported break and enters, showing an approximately 50 per cent decrease in the amount that are happening, which is a very, very good thing for us,” said Hall.
Hall’s second priority was intelligence-led policing and habitual offender management. Over the quarter, officers had 23 interactions with offenders in the area known to police, and laid 21 charges as a result. So far this fiscal year, police have laid 109 charges against repeat offenders, and Hall credits many of the declining chronic crime rates to those efforts.
A total of 23 assault files were recorded in 2024’s third quarter, down from 48 in 2023, representing a five-year low for the last months of the year. January to December stats for 2020 to 2024 also show a decrease in assaults for the entire calendar year, sitting at 145 compared to 2023’s 168.
“This is all part and parcel of the habitual offender management,” said Hall in a follow-up. “Not only do these guys commit property crimes, but they are also in the violent world as well. That’s a big impact in that area, in all types of crimes across the board.”
Fifteen vehicles were stolen during the quarter, up one file from last year, but down from highs of 23 in 2020 and 19 in 2022. Calendar year rates of vehicle theft also lessened, with 67 files recorded from January to December 2024, and 84 in 2023.
Rates of theft under $5,000 showed a year-over-year decline as well: Q3 of 2024 saw 25 files of theft under, up from last year’s 22, but lesser compared to the 40 seen in 2020 and 38 in 2021.
“By checking them, we prevent the things like break and enters, the thefts, the chronic crimes as well,” Hall told councillors. “This shows repeat offenders are being monitored and held accountable — well, I say that tongue in cheek, held accountable.”
He pointed to one repeat property crime offender in the area who, despite being arrested 28 times within the past year and is now the 21st most prolific offender in the province, was continuously released back into the community.
“That’s where the frustration comes into play for us. Property crime may not be treated as seriously in these rural areas here, and rightfully so — the violent crime needs to be treated as serious as it is,” said Hall. “But I also think that property crime does fit up there.”
Staffing and recruitment status
The detachment currently has one hard officer vacancy, with 11 constables and one sergeant on light duties. While Hall said his numbers are ok, he would like to be fully staffed with both officers and especially public servant roles.
Due to an extended leave, a maternity leave, and one hard vacancy for administrative positions, Hall said the detachment has been receiving support from the Lac La Biche department while the hiring process unfolds.
“I had to close the doors here for a few days last month and sent a notification out for that, as we were down to one person in the building. It wasn’t ideal for us.”
And while Hall told councillors poor public perception of policing prevalent since the pandemic led to low officer recruit numbers in the years following, the latest updates from K-Division told a different story.
Although media attention on police work, particularly in the United States, as well as not-so-competitive financial compensation for Alberta-based jobs turned people off from law enforcement, more than 3,050 applications have been received province-wide this fiscal year as of Mar. 11, an increase of 400 since January.
“That’s averaging about 62 new applications per week,” said Hall. “The applications go to Ottawa where they get processed, and that can be a bit of a slow process, because we definitely don’t want to hire just anyone for policing.
“We don’t want to have just anybody with a gun and a badge.”
Community-centric policing
Hall said as he starts priority planning for the next fiscal year, beginning in April, he’s asking for community feedback on what leaders and locals would like to see tackled.
“I’ve got a few listed here: property crime, habitual offenders again, drugs, traffic offences. Anything that you’re hearing that the community wants us to look at, because I’m going to build this plan around exactly what we’re hearing from the communities,” he said.
Mayor Rob Balay said the numbers presented made a case for continuing current efforts, and did share a piece of feedback from the community.
“Obviously the stats are saying that we’re gaining, we’re making success, so why wouldn’t we want to keep doing more of the same?” said Balay.
“The coffee shop talk is more of a focus on that, and less of a focus on handing out speeding tickets.”
