In a presentation to a number of local rural municipality representatives Tuesday at Mosaic Place, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Mark Fisher detailed the ways in which rural enforcement is being addressed in the province.
The overall data collected indicates that rural crime rates are down, and rural crime is not necessarily Saskatchewan specific; RCMP are seeing similar instances across all three prairie provinces.
Priorities for the RCMP include addressing property crime in rural areas, decreasing domestic violence, gang violence, and organized crime, and continuing reconciliation efforts with Indigenous communities.
Fisher noted that vacancy rates across the province are down to below five per cent, a decrease from previous years, which he hopes will assist with poor response times that rural communities often experience.
“We have some detachments with vast areas to cover, in rural municipalities, and that's the reality of being in the prairies,” said Fisher.
RCMP are relying on communities reporting crime in their area, in order to accurately compile data to be analyzed and used to inform their future strategies.
Fisher noted that the new Crime Watch Advisory Network is showing real success for rural communities, as it provides residents with free up-to-date information about crimes in their area and alerts them if and when those crimes reach resolution.
“[The RM representatives] talked about feedback on the value that they see in receiving that information and the timeliness of it, and also the value of how we are able to close that loop,” said Fisher.
“We haven't signed members up through the Crime Network, so that was another takeaway, we'll put into our next public meeting for our peers,” said Sacha Martens, reeve for the RM of Lake Johnston in the Mossbank area.
Fisher also detailed a pilot project in effect called Larawan, which has placed tracking devices on equipment on rural properties that alerts the owner if that equipment is stolen. RCMP can then track where it is headed and follow.
Thus far, the program is showing success and could potentially lower theft rates in rural areas.
The SARM meeting saw 13 RMs from throughout Division 2 represented during the discussion and is one of several divisional meetings SARM hosts through the year.
For more coverage of the topics discussed at the SARM meeting, click here and here.
