The number of vehicles left unlocked on the streets of Irricana remains the RCMP’s top concern for the community, according to Beiseker RCMP Sgt. Glen Demmon.
Demmon told Irricana Town council, during its regular meeting on June 6, he was amazed by how many residents have told him they never lock their car doors.
“Thieves are lazy (and) don’t like to work hard for what they want to get,” he said. “Let’s make it difficult for them.”
Demmon said he wants to work with the Town in the fall to deter criminals from targeting Irricana.
The goal, he said, is to get residents in the mindset of removing all valuables from the vehicle and locking it.
He suggested an awareness campaign be undertaken, which could include individuals canvassing the streets for unlocked cars and leaving a catalogue for the owner of items that could have been stolen.
“Let’s get some community involvement behind this because last winter there was some areas in town here that were targeted,” Demmon said. “We can sit down and come up with some ideas come September.”
He also presented council with 2016 crime statistics for Irricana for the months of January to May.
Property related crime overall spiked 51 per cent in 2016 with a total of 117 cases, while cases of theft under $5,000 increased 29 per cent, from 21 instances in 2015 to 27 in 2016.
Demmon said because the Canadian Revenue Agency scam had reached the area, fraud was six times higher in 2016 with 35 reported cases.
Vehicle theft is also on the rise in 2016, but Demmon said that included the high volume of vehicles stolen in Airdrie and Calgary that are recovered in the Irricana area.
“They all seem to be going through here,” he said. “We seem to be a dumping ground right now for stolen property.”
Demmon said mischief to property accounted for a large chunk of property-related crime, with 54 reported incidents this year. However, he said most of those crimes were complaints about neighbours or noise.
“With the nice weather, people are out more,” Demmon said. “I don’t know if it’s anything to be alarmed about because it’s not really mischief to property as far as damage goes.”
He said he was pleased to see a 21 per cent decrease in assault cases, which he said is usually a statistic that rises during tough economic times.
“That’s good,” he said. “It speaks well to the people.”
