During last week's Municipal Policing Advisory Board, the discussion of whether Airdrie's growing population and its booming infrastructure would merit another RCMP detachment. The discussion was prompted by a figure from the city's own projection growth models, which stipulate that by 2032 Airdrie could see 110 thousand residents or more.
Airdrie RCMP Staff Sgt. Troy Switzer admitted that even now that the RCMP is already seeing challenges with policing in the city. This challenge was most recently illustrated during a police incident that occurred last week in the Reunion neighbourhood of the city.
"We just had a recent home invasion and that's a prime example of resources trying to get to the Williamstown Reunion area. There was a train and we had an ERT [Emergency Response Team] team and PDS member[s] that couldn't get in there until the train cleared," he said.
Staff Sgt. Switzer added that the recent expansion of Costco has made things even more difficult for police to respond to events in the city as the construction trucks for that expansion are clogging traffic, especially during the peak rush hours of the afternoon, between 4 and 6 p.m.
Garth Patterson, a retired RCMP officer who sits on the board enquired whether or not it would be prudent to start planning for a second police station, considering there are three fire stations and a fourth one being planned.
Director of Community Growth and Protective Services, Kevin Weinberger, did underline that there have been talks for the past three years about not only the renovation and expansion of the city's current RCMP detachment but also whether it is feasible to have satellite RCMP stations in the city.
When Patterson asked if it was possible to have police and fire grouped in one area or building, Director Weinberger explained that dispatch systems are fundamentally different.
"Unless the city provides dispatch to RCMP; it's a different system right now, if it was a municipal police force, you can combine some of these things and do things differently. So, there are a few difficulties there. Five years ago, we did some feasibility study around that dispatch piece and we're just not quite there yet with call volumes and response."
Detachment Commander of the Airdrie RCMP, Inspector Lauren Weare, said that while there have been discussions with the city about the possibility of expanding the RCMP'S offices, one option would be to erect an RCMP satellite office. However, she noted that an RCMP satellite office in the city, would not include holding cells and other accommodations that the current main detachment has.
"It wouldn't be a full office, but there would be staff available, let's say, [in] the Southwest, that people could go and get criminal record checks and report their accidents," she said.
Inspector Weare said there were talks on whether the new recreational center in Airdrie would have had space for a potential policing office, though because the new recreational center won't be operational for another five years, it still leaves the question of what happens between now and the next five years.
"Ultimately, if you arrest somebody over in the southwest, they [the police officer] need to process [that] somebody; so, you're going to drive all the way back and now that person is not going to be there; and however long it takes to process or if you have to come back and you get called up to the office to do fingerprints. There are some times that we just don't have the ability to be everywhere."
Patterson said that he was encouraged by the mention of zone policing.
"[It's] the same reason you have multiple fire stations; if we can house a certain number of people through the day, we have that ability to respond to dispatch immediately to something that's going on, as opposed to dispatching from one office."
Data provided by the Airdrie RCMP, show that in 2021 the average response time for Airdrie Municipal detachment (not including rural) for priority one & two calls was 14.1 minutes.
There are four levels of priority calls that are codified by RCMP's K Division: priority one calls are classified as very urgent and need immediate dispatch. These types of calls can be anything from a major incident or incident in progress that requires immediate police presence, assistance or service. It involves the report of a loss of life or a need for police to prevent a loss of life.
Priority two calls are classified as urgent and need a dispatch as soon as possible. These types of calls indicate there's an urgent need for police presence, assistance or service. While there is no loss of life involved, the potential for escalation of violence exists.
Priority three calls, which are classified as routine would warrant a police dispatch as soon as would be reasonably possible. These calls are about reports that do not require immediate police presence, assistance or service. Priority four calls would warrant on immediate action. This happens when an occurrence does not require police attendance but may require further action.
However, a number of factors can influence the response time. The response time for priority one calls includes 4.75 minutes for telecommunication queue time, and it also depends on the length of the call, the file maintenance, and the dispatch from the file. Those factors are also seen in the priority two calls, which include a 6.25-minute factor for telecommunication queue time.
The Municipal Policing Advisory Board was also presented with statistics on Airdrie crime rates during the meeting. From January 2022 till September of this year, there was a 1 per cent total increase in crime in Airdrie in comparison to the same time period in 2021. However, the increase stems mostly from a marked increase in property crime.
Other notable statics included the Crime Reduction Unit seizing $13,500 worth of narcotics and $75,000 worth of stolen property.
"Three of our heavy hitters who live in Airdrie were picked up on outstanding warrants, and overall, in the last quarter 65 Criminal Code charges were laid," Inspector Weare told the board.
The General Investigations Section (GIS) was involved in investigating a case that dealt with fraud, with over a dozen victims in Airdrie, who were defrauded for over $160,000. While, the Sex Crimes Unit (SCU) has been dealing with what Weare said was multiple cases of sexual misconduct, mostly through the use of social media and sextortion. The SCU unit, comprised of two members, investigated a string of indecent act occurrences. One male was charged for those occurrences and is before the courts.
As the meeting concluded, Patterson said he would draft a letter to the city council regarding exploring the possibility of expanding RCMP offices in the city. The Board also said that a Policing Town Hall meeting has been set for mid-February 2023.
Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@discoverairdrie.com
Sat, May 4, 2:00 PM
Full-time, Permanent, Administrative