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Red Deer RCMP provide annual policing plan and crime statistics update

Sep. 5, 2023, Red Deer, Alta. – Red Deer city council received an update on their Annual Policing Plan (APP) and the Q1 crime statistics.

The 2022-24 APP was developed by the Red Deer RCMP through community consultation in early 2022, with the top three policing priorities identified as: police response and visibility, crime reduction and engaged community partners.

Statistics show the RCMP’s crime reduction efforts continue to be effective, with all property crime types decreasing 8 per cent year over year.

“Consistent reporting of suspicious activity and crime, even petty crimes, leads to robust data which becomes the foundation of our policing approach. All of our units, from General Duty to the General Investigation Section and Crime Reduction Unit utilize this data to provide intelligence-led policing,” says Inspector Heidi Ravenhill. “We are seeing real-time results where this data informs our patrols and we have interrupted crimes in progress. While the decrease in property crime is positive, the RCMP continues to encourage Red Deerians to report crimes.”

The Red Deer RCMP’s community-led policing initiatives include developing relationships and working with businesses, community associations, and the public to provide proactive policing and education. In the last quarter, Red Deer RCMP officers met with 59 community groups to provide education and spread awareness about a range of issues, including fraud trends, diversity and inclusion issues, and crime prevention tips.

“We use crime trends to select specific groups to meet with,” says Insp. Ravenhill. “For example, our Youth and Community Action Team met with senior citizen groups to provide warnings about the financially destructive grandparent scam which has been an ongoing issue throughout Alberta.”

Insp. Ravenhill also provided an update on the addition of two more Police and Crisis Teams (PACT), which pairs a psychiatric nurse with an RCMP officer. Currently, there are two PACT teams providing specialized policing resources for mental health calls in Red Deer. While AHS has decided they will not fund two more psychiatric nurses, 97 per cent of Red Deer’s officers have completed enhanced trauma training to better respond to mental health calls.