By Kevin J. Sabo
For the Advance
The members of the Coronation RCMP detachment had a busy 2020.
In addition to the increased workload brought on by the pandemic, the officers continued to enforce the law in the region. For 2020, the rural detachment responded to just shy of 1300 calls.
By far the largest amount of their call volume, traffic enforcement in the region, accounted for 45 per cent of their 2020 call volume. In total, the members responded to 578 traffic calls, 137 of which motor vehicle collisions, 403 involved provincial traffic offences, 12 involved impaired drivers, and 26 involved other traffic offences.
The second largest call volume for the detachment involved property crime.
The members responded to 225 calls for service in this category, including 74 theft under $5,000 calls, 37 break and enter calls, 32 calls for fraud, 42 calls for mischief to property, 16 motor vehicle thefts, six calls for theft over $5,000 and one arson.
Other common police activities accounted for 12 per cent of the members’ time, as far as call tracking goes.
Items in this category involved responding to false alarms, false 911 calls, wellness checks, missing person reports, animal calls, and suspicious person/vehicle/property calls.
In total, the 12 per cent of call volume in this category accounted for 154 calls.
Another area where the members of Coronation RCMP spent a significant amount of time is under the category of provincial statutes.
In total, the 115 calls in this area represent nine per cent of the detachment call volume, and include enforcement of the liquor act, dealing with people under the mental health act, investigating sudden deaths and municipal bylaw enforcement.
Drug offences, with just seven total call-outs accounted for one per cent of the detachment’s 2020 activities.
To help reduce crime in the region, the RCMP recommend the smartphone app ‘Lightcatch,’ - a virtual crime watch app that allows for the immediate reporting of crimes and suspicious activities to others on the network.
The app is available on both Apple and Android app stores, and the more people register, the more effective the coverage is.
A new commander for the detachment, Sgt. John Pike, arrived in December and has been settling into the area, reaching out to all the communities in the region covered by the detachment.
With the restrictions surrounding the pandemic impacting in-person gatherings, Pike intends to launch a community engagement session.
Between Feb. 15th and Feb. 26th, he invited members of the community to write either through traditional mail or email any comments or concerns members of the community may have about policing in the region.
Pike intends to collect the information and respond to the top 10 concerns later in March.
Detachment email for the community engagement is KCoronationDet@rcmp-grc.gc.ca. The mailing address for the detachment is Coronation RCMP, 4009 Royal St., Coronation, AB, T0C 1C0.
The Coronation RCMP Detachment currently has four members, Sgt. Pike, and three constables, with a vacant position to be filled in the next few months.