The 2011 Drumheller RCMP Municipal Detachment statistics for 2011 have been released, and compared to 2010, it appears the numbers are down.
According to the numbers, incidents of Criminal Code files against persons have gone from 283 in 2010 to 217 in 2011. Property related complaints have dropped from 581 in 2010 to 411 in 2011. Items designated as “other Criminal Code” have risen from 234 to 248.
Overall this is a reduction of about 20 per cent.
Staff Sergeant Art Hopkins cautions that reading into these numbers does not necessarily mean there has been a decrease in crime or workload at the RCMP detachment. He explains there are many factors.
“Why do we have a reduction in crime? Is there less crime? There might be,” said Hopkins. “Is it that the crime is down, or is the reporting reduced? It might be a combination of both. When I look out in the bullpen, the guys are busy.”
Other factors such as how incidents are reported or how outreach programs may have been functioning can also play a role in the statistics.
“We might be more be effective in what we are doing, crime may be reduced, and more involvement in community groups maybe reducing crime. Overall what we are doing appears to be working,” said Hopkins.
He said the statistics might not reflect all of the responsibilities encompassed by the police force. For example, this year they are piloting the Duke of Edinburgh Award. The police are also involved in more extensive investigations such as fraud.
One example he cites is the two in-custody deaths at the Drumheller Institution on Christmas Eve. Hundreds of hours could be dedicated to such an investigation, yet it would not show up under criminal investigations.
On the illegal drug front, the numbers have dipped as well. Charges for drug production were up from three to five instances. Possession charges remained even at 113, trafficking was down from 29 to 23. This year there were a number of seizures with values in the thousands of dollars.
In the same period, clearance rates of criminal charges have remained relatively even. The overall average for 2011 is 54 per cent, compared to 52 per cent, the greatest increase was in Criminal Code Persons, which went from an 81 per cent clearance to 89 per cent clearance. Property related criminal incidents stayed stable going from 29 per cent to 28 per cent.
While he said the clearance rate for property incidents seems low, this is due to the nature of the crime. Often, there are no suspects and long lag times. For example, if something is stolen, it may not be noticed for days before it is reported, or if a vehicle is broken into or vandalized at night, it may not be noticed until morning. Whereas in a crime against a person, such as an assault or a threat, the suspect is often known or recognizable.
Hopkins also explains the clearance rates for crimes against a person could also be skewed by incidents at the Drumheller Institution.
“We have assaults at the Drumheller Institution. We know they are assaults, they are reported as a person crime, but neither one will say anything,” said Hopkins.
The bottom line for Hopkins is Drumheller is a
relatively safe and community-minded town where neighbours know each other.
“I like to see the community as a whole. I don’t see a lot of changes since last year, I don’t see a lot of changes bad or good. I see a healthy community, a relatively happy community, and I see a community that has a lot of things going on for residents,” said Hopkins.
