At Monday's (March 20) City Council Meeting, Staff Sergeant Chad Fournier, acting Officer in Charge of Airdrie's RCMP detachment, presented crime statistics as part of the bi-annual RCMP update.

Fournier emphasized that the statistics he presented indicated all reported incidents, whether the investigations resulted in charges or were ultimately deemed unfounded.

Fournier reported that some categories of personal crime were up in 2016. The year saw one homicide, 37 sexual assaults and 10 kidnappings or abductions, all up from 2015. On the point of abductions, Fournier indicated that all ten cases were instances where the offender was known by the victim. Fournier also showed that robberies were down in 2016, with nine compared to 20 the previous year.

Property crime is down overall compared to 2015. Fournier said that the number of break and enters last year were still high, but did see a 31% reduction compared to the previous year. Likewise, motor vehilce theft numbers stayed high but are down.

Drug enforcement also saw a reduction, with production, possession and trafficking numbers all down. Fournier did mention that he believes there is more drug activity in Airdrie than the numbers show, because drug crimes are usually under reported.

Motor vehicle collisions were down 11% in 2016, a significant drop compared to 2015. Airdrie saw only three fatal collisions last year. Impaireds are also down to their lowest level since 2012, with only 78 in 2016.

Fournier also discussed gang activity in Airdrie. He said there is a small gang presence, and presented multiple strategies to combat gang activity. One is strong drug enforcement. Another is a "No Gang Colours" program that has been implemented in other communities.

With the "No Gang Colours" program, city facilities and businesses can display a sign that says anyone wearing gang symbols or gang related clothing is not allowed on the premises. If the sign is displayed, the RCMP can then remove any offenders under the Trespass to Premises Act and the Petty Trespass Act. Council ultimately endorsed a motion to bring the "No Gang Colours" program to Airdrie.

 

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