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At the first in-person town hall since the COVID-19 pandemic, about 20 people gathered at the community hall in Millet to talk about police priorities last week.
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The annual performance plan helps local law enforcement determine where to focus police resources.
“You help us set priorities for the year,” said the Wetaskiwin RCMP inspector. Keith Durance. “The APP is a road map for the detachment commander.”
Priorities for the past year were drug enforcement, managing prolific offenders, crimes against the person, crimes against property and community engagement.
“It’s not shocking that some of the issues we’re having are similar in the surrounding community,” he said.
With five priorities last year, Durance said that was too much for the members to fill out properly.
“We had too many things to do. I would prefer that we have fewer priorities and more initiatives.
Moving from property crimes to drugs, Durance said tackling drugs became a top priority last year when there was bad fentanyl in the community and a number of overdoses.
“It got things going,” Durance said, noting that searches and property crimes go hand in hand.
Dealing with prolific offenders remained a priority, as 8-10% of criminals commit 80% of crime in a community, so keeping tabs on them has an impact on crime in a community, he said.
In Millet, crimes against persons fell by 8% and break and enters by 25%. The number of motor vehicle thefts rose from 10 to 19, with Ford F250 and Ford F350 trucks popular among thieves.
Earlier this year, the RCMP were in Millet as part of Operation Cold Start to check if vehicles in motion were locked or if keys were accessible, as the majority of stolen vehicles are the result of accessible keys or vehicles running with keys in the ignition. , said Durance.
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Of the 30 vehicles checked, seven were driving with the keys inside.
After his presentation, Durance asked community members what their priorities were, with youth and community engagement being two of the things Millet residents would like the police to focus on.
For those unable to attend the meeting, but wish to contribute, the annual Wetaskiwin and Area Community Safety and Policing Priorities Survey is now available online until March 15. There are links to it on the City of Wetaskiwin and County of Wetaskiwin websites. . Results will be shared on the Town of Wetaskiwin’s online platforms as soon as they are finalized.
