Whitecourt RCMP report a decrease in calls in 2017 and a 3.4 per cent drop from 2016

 

Members of the Whitecourt RCMP Detachment presented an 11-page document to council during the Monday, June 11 regular meeting. The document provided a detailed breakdown of last year’s operations and caseload within town boundaries.

Staff Sgt. Comaniuk first walked councillors through a five-year comparable on calls of service at the detachment which included calls from the public, self-generated files, and proactive files. The statistics listed are for the Town of Whitecourt and do not include Woodlands County. Last year, the detachment saw 4,280 files. The four other years displayed on the graph, 2013 to 2016, were all higher than 2017. The closest year was 2014 which saw just one more call than 2017. Compared to 2016, there was a 3.4 per cent decrease from last year’s activity.

The most active month for calls in 2017 was May while the month with the least amount of calls was November. As a comparable, in 2016 the most active month was October while the least active month was February. From there, RCMP members further broke down the numbers to show the days of the week and times of the day that most files are generated. “We get most of our calls at 3 p.m. This shows just over 300 for the calendar year,” explained Staff Sgt. Comaniuk. Friday is by far the busiest day of the week with 668 files being generated throughout the year on that day alone.

In 2017, there were 1,402 self-generated, front counter, and proactive files created which accounts for 32.8 per cent of all files. Those are calls that came through the local detachment either by foot traffic into the building or by calling the local number during administration hours. After hours, calls are rerouted through the communications centre in Edmonton and through that system there were 2,878 calls for service from Whitecourt residents. Saturday was the busiest day for after hours calls with 497.

Continually, 6 p.m. is one of the busiest times of the week and Staff Sgt. Comaniuk explains why. “A lot of people are coming home after work and they have issues or questions and concerns, and they call us for help.”

Here are the top 10 file types by workload starting with the highest: Mental Health, Assault, Mischief, Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle (by Alcohol), Theft under $5,000, Motor Vehicle Collision/Property Damage, Assault with a Weapon, Sexual Assault, Uttering Threats, and Assistance to the Provincial/Territorial Department. Though mental health is at the top it doesn’t mean they receive the most calls for that type of issue. It simply means that the workload required to work those specific files is greater than that of other issues. For example, an officer responding to a mischief call may only have to spend an hour on it whereas a call for a mental health case might require the officer to spend two to three hours on it.

The top four categories the Whitecourt RCMP dealt with most in 2017 were responsible for just shy of 1,000 cases. At the top of the list was Mischief with 288 files followed by False Alarms at 249, Suspicious Person/Vehicle/Property with 247, and Theft Under $5,000 with 209 files. Councillor Chauvet said he found it surprising that drug offences didn’t fall into the top 10. Staff Sgt. Comaniuk said it isn’t something they deal with on a more regular basis.

Council immediately began asking questions about the number of false alarm calls and the burden they place on the detachment. Real alarm calls are estimated to be under five per cent, around a dozen, which when compared to the 249 false alarm calls from 2017 clearly rises as a big issue. “So, how do we change that? Because that is a lot of resources,” asked Mayor Chichak. “This is a big concern,” echoed Deputy Mayor Pickard.

Currently, the first false alarm is free, be it a home alarm that accidently goes off or a business. The second false alarm to the same property is a cost of $200 to the occupant. Sgt. Zadderey explained that alarm keyholders can choose if they want the police called automatically when their alarm goes off or if they want to be contacted so they can make the call to authorities. He said it’s up to alarm users to make sure it’s set up properly and working correctly.

“It’s a bit of a diluted mess,” explained Staff Sgt. Comaniuk. “There are a lot of calls and many of them are residential and we can’t get hold of keyholders. There is a draw on the resources and this is just municipal. If we had to send an officer to Blue Ridge for a false alarm call, then it does impact our operations.”

Councillor Schlosser said the rise in home alarm systems is perpetuated by the alarm companies and he doesn’t think it’s necessary. “You live in Whitecourt. Why do you need an alarm system? The chances of you getting your home broken into are slim. I think it’s overkill.” Town administration is now looking into compiling statistics on the false alarm calls to see how many repeat offenders there are and to see how many calls are from the county. “Is $200 really getting the message through? I don’t know,” said Staff Sgt. Comaniuk.

The final few pages of the report touched base on Criminal Code Traffic Violations including impaired driving. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were the highest days for offences in 2017 with most occurring between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. Assaults, excluding sexual assault, are more frequent on the weekends than they are during the week by almost double.

The last bit of information shared from the RCMP was the Annual Performance Plan which they adopt each year to address certain initiatives they will carry forward through the fiscal year April 1 to March 31. “Our current plan focuses on crime reduction, traffic safety, and mental health. We’re in really good shape in terms of our crime reduction and are regularly looking for better ways to make sure the community is safe. Last year, our office issued 698 Condition checks on offenders in our community who are out on Conditions,” explained Sgt. Zadderey. They also wrote 685 violation tickets, performed 204 check stops, and attended 506 school visits which includes presentations, visits, or school walk-throughs.