A private members motion by Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs that promotes a study on rural crime has been endorsed by Lacombe County Council.
Council voted unanimously to support the motion to request the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to study the problem of rural crime and suggest recommended crime reduction initiatives.
“Lacombe County Council has been actively involved in Rural Crime Watch Associations across the County and we are concerned about the rate in which rural crime has escalated in the past years,” said Reeve Paula Law in a release. “Crime is a major problem in rural areas across Alberta, and we urgently need new strategies to address police shortages and current limitations of our justice system for the safety of our rural communities.”
The study in question would look into crime rates, trends, the RCMP, policing resources in remote and indigenous communities and partnerships between provincial and municipal police forces.
The requested goal is to have recommendations ready for six months from now for increased support and crime prevention, as well as ideas to decrease rural crime rates.
“It’s a step in the right direction, and demonstrates that by working together, municipalities, law enforcement, crime watch groups and politicians have succeeded in starting a serious conversation about rural crime,” said Reeve Law.
The release stated that rural crime prevention has been a focus of Lacombe County Council in recent months.
In the last year, Council approved funding for a General Investigation Services position at the Blackflads RCMP. Council has also promoted the Crime Prevention Through Environment Design program and Rural Crime Watch groups within the County, according to the release.
-Vaughan