Crossfield council has made law enforcement a top priority after hearing concerns from residents about break and enters and speeding on local roads.
“We were aware there were challenges before the (2013 municipal election) campaign,” said Mayor Nathan Anderson. “Multiple councillors heard complaints that had not come to council before we went door-to-door.”
He said with the input they received from residents the issue of enhancing enforcement became a top priority for council this term.
“It’s a multiple-level strategy,” Anderson said.
“We have our peace officer that has always been a part of (the enforcement plan) but we’ve added two additional levels.”
Those levels include the RCMP and a private security company that, together with the peace officer, will double the enforcement in the town.
The Town has taken out a one-year contract with the RCMP, which started on May 1, to provide the town with two eight-hour shifts of RCMP enforcement in the town that will occur at randomly scheduled days and times.
“Previously, the RCMP in town have only been from complaints or calls received,” Anderson said at the May 6, council meeting.
He said there is a major advantage to the randomly scheduled RCMP enforcement in town because offenders won’t know when to expect them.
“The key is to try and get as much coverage as unpredictable as possible,” he said.
In addition, the Town has entered into a one-year contract with Night Security, a private security company. Deputy Mayor Jo Tennant swore in three security personnel from the company as bylaw officers on April 1, and they will be patrolling the town three nights a week.
Town administration could not be reached as of press time to determine how much the new enforcement services will cost.
Council eliminated one of the two peace officer positions the Town had in order to help offset the cost of the new enforcement plan.
“I think we are starting to get a very solid enforcement plan together,” Anderson said. “It will hopefully cause a significant decrease in problems and we’ll notice the impact.”
He added the Town receives daily reports from the security firm and will receive quarterly reports from the RCMP.
“If (the enforcement) is not enough we’ll address it further,” he said.
