Airdrie RCMP saw a rise in most areas of crime and traffic enforcement fines over 2015.

In the 2016 Bi-Annual policing overview, it showed that 6,453 traffic fines were issued last year - up by close to 4,000 from the previous year.

Current policing initiatives have been working to address traffic safety concerns with their Safe City Streets and Nights programs.

The Safe City Streets is aimed at traffic enforcement and dealing with problem areas that have been identified by the community by bringing in additional uniformed members.

The Safe City Nights program is bringing in more members to deal with noise complaints, patrolling parks and visiting local drinking establishments.

Even with the additional enforcement, the RCMP Crime division saw an increase of 889 total crimes committed with the largest increase in property crime.

Thefts under $5,000 accounted for the highest number of incidents with just over 1,400 recorded reports.

Theft from motor vehicles jumped from 350 reports in 2014 to just over 600 last year.

Downtown, Luxstone, and King's Heights had the highest rate of incidence of those theft's from motor vehicles.

Inspector Gordon Sage, of the OIC Airdrie Detachment questioned if there was a potential design component in neighborhoods that could be leading to a higher level of crime.

Sage also noted that domestic violence complaints had risen significantly from the previous year.

974 reports were made, 799 of those were deemed actual domestic violence, and of those 799, 129 led to criminal charges.

The City of Airdrie and Airdrie RCMP are handling the city's current crime challenges by adding eight new positions by April this year.

Leah Crawford - airdrienews@goldenwestradio.com