Officers speaking to the councils of the Town of Athabasca, Athabasca County and the Village of Boyle all said break and enters in Athabasca have seen a ìdramatic increaseî over the past couple of months.
Staff Sgt. Brian Nicholl spoke at council meetings for the Town of Athabasca on March 15 and Athabasca County on March 8, while Sgt. John Spaans spoke to the Village of Boyleís council March 16.
Athabasca County
Nicholl said at the March 8 county council meeting that because of the increase in break and enters, police have upped their patrols of areas more likely to be targeted.
He also said proactive patrols are difficult when the detachment only has seven members for the entire county, plus two additional officers dedicated to the MD of Opportunity.
ìThe increase is so dramatic, it cuts down on police ability to do proactive policing,î Nicholl said.
ìWeíre increasing proactive patrols, but if weíre in Rochester and we get a call to Calling Lake, weíve got to go.î
Coun. Denis Willcott said some of his constituents were getting fed up with the crime spree, to the point where they were considering taking the law into their own hands.
ìWeíre going to have to do something, because people are getting frustrated,î he said. ìPeople are getting nasty.î
Nicholl, however, discouraged vigilantism, as people then run the risk of getting charged themselves. He advised residents to instead call police if they see suspicious activity, because that information will be tracked and used to map crime and plan future police activities.
This was the first time Nicholl met county councillors since taking up the detachment commander post in January. He asked council what they would like police to target this year.
Top of the list was a crime prevention plan and to find a way to tackle break and enters.
Coun. Larry Speers said there was a known crime house in Rochester, and asked if it was possible to shut it down.
Nicholl said that if the tenants were renting, the landlord could kick them out. But if they were homeowners, there wasnít much police could do without evidence and a search warrant.
More quad patrols were also requested around the Island Lake and Baptiste Lake campgrounds, especially after a fatality last summer at a bachelor party.
Town of Athabasca
Nicholl, who said he has been in the office for about six weeks, said the overall crime trend in town is ìfairly decent,î but there were about 60 break and enters in January and February.
ìThat is probably one of the biggest things on my plate right now, as a detachment, that weíre trying to deal with,î he said.
He said the number included houses, cabins, commercial, oil leases ñ everything.
Patry mentioned she suspect drugs and the use of methamphetamine are contributing factors to thefts and break and enters.
ìIt is something that is ongoing, and something that weíre something weíre constantly working on tackling,î she said.
Coun. Joanne Peckham asked if there was a way for the police to scramble their scanners, noting that many people in town know when the officers are gone.
Nicholl said the RCMP are moving to digital radio across the northwest region, and noted that people on scanners often help in identifying locations of criminals.
Village of Boyle
Sgt. John Spaans said the break-and-enter spree has not hit the village.
ìEverything is a lot quieter, knock wood, in Boyle,î Spaans said.
He went into more detail about the Athabasca area, noting that by this point last year, there had been about 20 reports of break and enters.
ìTheyíve had 40 this month alone,î he added. ìWeíre noticing some of that start to spill over our way.î
Spaans said residents along the Al-Pac road have been hit. Thieves also hit the MGís Convenience Store in Boyle, taking lottery tickets and breaking a window.
ìItís a matter of trying to catch a fly in a wind storm,î he said. ìTheyíre all over the place. Weíre pretty sure the same group or same kind of, same rough group are going all around Westlock, Athabasca, Boyle, over to Lac La Biche ñ theyíre doing this.î
He said the Boyle detachment is working with Rural Crime Watch to get the word out and take proactive steps, like leaving lights on, watching neighboursí houses and reporting suspicious activity. He said it was crucial that businesses check that their cameras are working, too.
Spaans said there have been few complaints about traffic on Highway 63. He noted the ìreasonable winterî and the twinning of the highway as possible reasons. He pointed out that last year there were 437 complaints about traffic, while there year there have only been 155.
