The Village of Halkirk council received Sgt. John Pike as a delegation during their Aug. 24 council meeting.
Pike attended the meeting to update council on the crime statistics for the region. Overall, the news he brought was positive.
So far in 2022 the detachment has dealt with 68 cases of property crime which is down from 120 at the same point last year. Of those 68 complaints, seven are still under active investigation and 23 have been cleared with charges filed.
On the roads and highways of the region, the officers of the Coronation RCMP detachment responded to 226 traffic related offences in between April 1 and June 30. Of those, 141 were speeding related with 98.5 per cent of them resulting in tickets.
During the same period in 2021, officers dealt with 123 traffic related offences.
One area that has seen a significant decrease is criminal code traffic violations. According to Pike, traffic criminal code is down by 44 per cent, something he credits to the provincial impaired driving sanctions.
“The provincial sanctions are a lot more punishment than the criminal code ever was,” Pike said.
Drug-related offences are also down by around 33 per cent, due to increased targeting of suspected individuals.
“Everybody knows who is doing it. It’s just getting the evidence to prove it.”
In Halkirk specifically, officers responded to nine complaints in between the beginning of April and the end of June, the RCMP’s first-quarter for record keeping.
Chief administrative officer (CAO) Tamara Sloboda asked Sgt. Pike what the community can do to protect their assets in the community, such as the Elks concession shed.
“Don’t leave anything valuable there. Cameras are always good too.”
One final matter the CAO asked about was the big trucks entering the community off of Highway 12.
According to Sloboda, due to the placement of a sign marking Highway 12 and Highway 855, big trucks unfamiliar with the area will pull off into the village’s access instead of going a kilometre further down the highway to the proper intersection.
Sloboda says that Alberta Transportation has been approached about moving the sign, with no action yet taken. Before Pike left the meeting he promised he would note the concerns with the sign placement, and the trucks coming through town, with Alberta Transport himself.