Crime remains at a five year low in Woodlands County.
At Woodlands County’s May 11, 2022 meeting, Barrhead RCMP Staff Sergeant Bob Dodds was on hand to get council’s approval on the RCMP’s annual performance plan.
But before they got to that, Dodds surprised council by announcing he had just received the latest crime statistics, and wanted to share them.
In the part of Woodlands County that falls under the Barrhead RCMP’s jurisdiction, there have only been seven criminal code offences in 2022. All across the Barrhead RCMP’s jurisdiction, there have been 229, which, according to Dodds, continues to be the lowest number in five years.
Despite that, some numbers are on the rise. Dodds reported there have been 29 assaults so far this year, which is an increase when compared to last year. He clarified that assaults can be anything from a simple push to a punch in the nose, and that almost none of the assaults have been serious.
Dodds summed up by saying he has no idea why crime is at a five year low. But, in consultations with neighbouring RCMP detachments and observing the province-wide trends, it’s consistent with numbers across Alberta.
County council was pleased with the low numbers.
“For our purposes, this report is really good, because it means the RCMP are doing their job,” said Councillor Peter Kuilken.
Once the numbers were out of the way, council approved the RCMP’s annual performance plan for 2022. The performance plan outlines that police visibility and drug enforcement will be the Barrhead RCMP’s top priorities in 2022.
