When the City of Airdrie and Rocky View County collaborated to form the expanded RCMP Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) they were hoping it would be effective in lowering crime stats in the area.  

Just how successful the unit would be might have surprised everyone involved, everyone but the person who brought up the idea of a bigger team, Inspector Kim Pasloske, Commanding Officer of the Airdrie RCMP.  

The original team consisted of three members which Pasloske says is a good start but in order to really address crime reduction, she felt a team of six or seven was needed.  

"That was one of my priorities last year,  to talk to the city and identify a way that we could increase our Crime Reduction Unit.  The city supported that and actually doubled the unit to six and Rocky View got on board with their enhanced position, bringing the team to seven."

Since January the CRU has proven extremely successful with an 11% reduction in property crime in the city and county.  Pasloske says that success was almost immediate.

"Within three days of the team being operational in January, they executed a search warrant and they made Airdrie's first carfentanil seizure.  Suspects were charged and a vehicle seized.  We actually seized it as an offence-related property and are applying to have it be forfeited to the crown so that's pretty significant as well because that's the first time in Airdrie that we've done that."

Carfentanil has 100 times the potency of fentanyl and is 5,000 times more potent than heroin.

Pasloske says the reaction they've gotten from citizens and businesses in Airdrie and Rocky View has been extremely positive. 

"They're loving us being out there.  We've done several bait vehicle and bait property deployments with huge success.  We've arrested multiple offenders on those bait vehicle programs and the business owners we interact with when we're running those programs, they love to see us out there with that kind of proactive policing."

Pasloske explains that the CRU has one mission, to reduce crime in Airdrie and the surrounding area.  She says they do that with a three-pronged approach.  The first is looking for crime hot-spots.  The second is looking for prolific offenders, those who are causing the community the most problems.  The third is to address the root causes of crime, why are they offending and how can they be kept away from crime.

There has been much talk about the increase in rural crime in Alberta and across the country.  While Pasloske agrees that rural crime is increasing, she also points to a significant reduction in rural crime in this area since January.

"Our rural crime stats since January have actually reduced by 37 percent.  Some of that had to do with the types of calls that we're responding to so it isn't 100 percent the Crime Reduction Unit but I would attribute a significant portion of that to the CRU and their success in the rural area.  Taking those offenders off the streets, out of our area and addressing their issues."

Since it's launch, the CRU team has conducted undercover operations, surveillance, overt investigations, and warrant round-ups.  They have laid 67 new charges, executed 128 outstanding warrants, and executed 11 judicial authorizations.  They also seized a variety of drugs valued at $183,000, recovered $70,000 in stolen property and seized 19 weapons including firearms, prohibited weapons, edged weapons and conducted energy weapons.

Mayor Peter Brown of Airdrie says, "Safety in Airdrie continues to be a top priority and it is encouraging to see that our efforts and decisions are having a positive impact in reducing crime in the city."

Pasloske is pleased that the CRU is working well.  "Property crime is lower than it has been in years.  [The] partnership between the City of Airdrie and the County of Rocky View has been instrumental in contributing to these successes." 

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