Alberta's crime reduction strategy is having an impact, law enforcement officials stated earlier today, Sept. 4, in a report card on the first six months of the new program.

Members of the Alberta RCMP, Alberta Crime Watch and the provincial government were in Airdrie to release crime statistics from January to July 2018 and compared them to the same timeframe in 2017.

Property crimes, excluding fraud, mischief and arson, are down nine per cent overall and 11 per cent in the rural communities where there's been particular alarm. 

Crime statistics released earlier today.

During July, the most current month of the report, the numbers are even more promising. Property crimes decreased 17 per cent overall and by 25 per cent in rural areas compared to July 2017.

RCMP say that 366 fewer homes were broken into, 648 fewer cars were stolen and there were 2,358 fewer thefts.

With a total of $13.3 million in additional funding from the Alberta government, RCMP developed a 7-point action plan that expanded its crime reduction strategy by enhancing intelligence and information sharing, dedicating resources to apprehend repeat offenders and reducing administrative burdens of officers, to allow them to spend more time conducting investigations and engaging with the communities they serve.

RCMP Superintendent Peter Tewfik explains what they’ve learned over the past year with the Crime Reduction Strategy.

“It was my belief that if we focused on targetting the people that were causing us the most harm that it would have the effect of reducing crime because simply we are targetting the people that are hurting our communities the most. I think that is proving true. We know that stats can fluctuate but I think the trend is definitely going in the right direction for us.”

While the stats for the reduction in rural crime are good news, Tewfik acknowledges there is still work to be done. He doesn’t encourage rural property owners to take matters into their own hands.

“At the end of the day, we want people to be safe and we’re encouraging them not to engage with a criminal that might be on their property but rather to phone us and give us an opportunity to deal with that person. That’s been the message that I’ve delivered when I’ve been out in some of our communities and these town halls.”

In addition, Kathleen Ganley, Alberta’s Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, says providing more funding for the court system has also been a crucial part of the strategy.

“The system really does function as a whole. That means that we need to keep an eye not only on efficiencies but in ensuring that every component of that system has the necessary funding.”

Ganley said increased funding was also provided to hire more court clerks and judges.