Airdrie RCMP Media Liaison Constable Jason Curtis said it’s a long-shot, but RCMP is hoping someone will have information about an act of vandalism at Chinook Winds Skate Park on Oct. 12.
“Two youths spray-painted the concession stand at the Chinook Winds Skate Park,” Curtis said.
According to RCMP, a witness saw a black vehicle speeding out of the park at approximately 9:30 p.m.
A security guard from Airdrie’s Knight Security, working at the park investigated and “found fresh graffiti on the concession stand,” Curtis said.
Witnesses told officers they’d seen two men with their faces covered spray-painting the concession stand before fleeing the scene in the black vehicle, according to Curtis.
Curtis said video surveillance footage was collected, and shows one man wearing a white balaclava doing the actual vandalism while another man in a black hoodie recorded the incident on a cell phone.
The Chinook Winds Skate Park has been the scene of crime in the past, prompting the City of Airdrie to add private security patrols at a number of City facilities and parks after 6 p.m. from July 11 to Oct. 13 as a pilot project.
The City’s Security Advisor Doug Mackie said the patrols by Knight Security were out nightly during the hours when the City had seen the most issues. In addition to the extra security patrols, which cost $20,000, the City installed a security camera on top of the new concession building at Chinook Winds and the concession building also has a security alarm system.
Communications Team Lead for the City Lynda Phelan said the cost to install the camera was $7,700.
The public feedback gained through the pilot project is critical and staff are now assessing that feedback along with the information collected by the private security patrols, according to Mackie.
If you have any information on any crime, call the Airdrie RCMP detachment at (403) 945-7200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477)
