Strathmore RCMP remind public about local crime reporting
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Strathmore RCMP are reminding residents and the general public about the importance of reporting suspicious or criminal activity, regardless of its perceived scale.
Police are stressing the impact and assistance timely and accurate reporting provides to help better understand what is happening in the community, as well as to support short- and long-term investigations and crime prevention strategies.
“We have been finding that is where we get a lot of our useful information. It really does help to inform our policing activities. We want to be as strategic as possible when we are determining what public safety project we are going to undertake and where we should be focusing our resources,” said Staff Sgt. Mark Wielgosz. “A lot of that information does come from where our crime reporting is coming from. Often, we find that if a crime has occurred, whether it is minor in nature such as (relating to vehicles) or minor vandalism, a lot of people do not take the time to make a police report for a variety of reasons.”
He explained those who do not make reports after witnessing minor crimes may believe there is nothing police are able to do about it, or the solvability would be too low.
What police are looking for is to enhance and continue good cooperation with local residents to report minor crimes and suspicious activity to help focus where to deploy police resources.
“Anecdotally, if you look at, perhaps one person in the community had their car entered and a few small items were stolen, and perhaps two or three more of their neighbours might have had a similar issue,” said Wielgosz. “If nobody reports that, then it is really hard to focus police resources to that area to deal with the problem now. One by itself may not seem to be that big of an issue, but if there are four or five similar types of offences on the same street, that starts to lend itself to a larger picture.”
If criminal or suspicious activity is observed, RCMP request witnesses call 911, or 310-RCMP for non-emergencies. Crimes may also be reported online through the Alberta RCMP app.
Members of the public are discouraged from physically intervening against criminals, as they may be potentially dangerous, or civilians may unintentionally interfere with an ongoing investigation.
Domestic crime prevention activities include awareness of what normal behaviours are among neighbours and identifying what movements or changes may be suspicious.
Wielgosz added periodic public information releases serve as good reminders for the public to remain vigilant about community safety. Local RCMP intend to publish releases in semi-regular intervals as time allows to put out messaging about general community safety and crime prevention.