March 26, 2021 – Strathmore, Alta., RCMP are focusing on 10 priorities, following a motion by Strathmore town council.
The priorities are set each year to ensure Strathmore RCMP and the Town of Strathmore agree on the detachment’s annual performance plan, said Sgt. Jay Salmon, acting detachment commander.
But the RCMP’s performance plan is more flexible this year, with priorities able to be changed monthly if a crisis or need arises.
“They’re trying to be more responsive to the needs of the communities that we provide policing services to,” said Salmon.
Typically, five priorities are selected. Initially these included reducing property crime, traffic law enforcement, application of crime reduction strategy, police presence/visibility and community engagement.
But town council identified five additional priorities for the detachment to focus on, including responding to the opioid crisis, communication, the tripartite agreement with Siksika, youth engagement (positive policing) and joint initiatives.
Focusing on this list of 10 priorities is not excessive and they can be integrated into each other, said Salmon.
“If we are creative enough, we can actually get all 10 of these priorities into our plan.”
These priorities are not isolated issues within Strathmore or even the detachment’s entire patrol area, said Salmon. Strathmore RCMP will later report back to town council and show some concrete evidence as to how each priority has been addressed.
Councillor Jason Montgomery asked what the RCMP can do about property crime, which he said is a serious issue in town.
To address property crime, Strathmore RCMP strives for intelligence-led policing,” said Salmon.
“We want to know why we’re going in a certain direction when we come out from the detachment,” he said. “We want to have a reason for what we’re doing and where we’re going.”
This is achieved partly through the integrated work of the detachment’s crime reduction and geographic information system (GIS) units.
“They are doing things like curfew checks and compliance checks on release conditions,” he said. That means besides working on its major files, the detachment is also being proactive to reduce crime. If a person is found not to be following their release conditions, the justice of the peace will be contacted to decide if that person should be allowed out in the community, he explained.
The Strathmore RCMP covers much ground beyond Strathmore. Its detachment area includes about 30,000 people and spans from the Bow River in its southwest to Rockyford in its northeast.
“We have a huge area,” said Salmon.
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