The Town of Bonnyville has a better picture of what law enforcement has been up to.
Bonnyville RCMP S/Sgt. Sarah Parke gave a year-end review for the municipality, while town peace officer Shaz Khan updated the town on what he's been working on during council's regular meeting on Tuesday, May 14.
In the 2018 fiscal year, local RCMP responded to a total of 6,129 files, which Parke noted was comparable to the number of files generated in 2017 at 6,166.
The Bonnyville detachment housed 789 prisoners, which was just under 100 more than the previous year. An online database will allow RCMP to determine how many different people are processed. Currently, their system only tells them the number of prisoners they've had in cells, regardless of if they've been there before.
"We're hoping to be able to determine out of those 789 bookings, how many different people there are, because that's not 789 people that we're booking in. There's a lot of repeat prisoners in those numbers," detailed Parke.
For the Bonnyville General Investigation Section (GIS), Parke said it's "consistently given positive results" in the year and a half it's been operating.
"The GIS has collected evidence, conducted surveillance, written and executed numerous search warrants, and have caught and charged several drug traffickers."
As a result of their investigations, they've seized over 137-grams of cocaine, 294-grams of MDMA, 337-grams of GHB, and 530-grams of methamphetamine, which has a total approximate street value of over $104,000.
The unit charged 50 people, with the number of charges laid or pending at 153.
In the municipality, there were 29 impaired driving-related charges laid. Of the 1,454 traffic-related calls for service, 437 resulted in charges and 537 were collisions. Members from the local detachment issued 816 violation tickets and warnings, while the St. Paul and Vermilion traffic services handed out approximately 340 violation tickets in the area.
Parke noted break and enters and vehicle thefts "are at the forefront" of concerns.
"We've had a total of 164 break and enter investigations, 102 of those were in the municipality, and 172 vehicles. That includes quads, SUVs, trucks, and cars, and 80 of those were stolen from the municipality," she continued.
While they had five new members transfer in to replace those who left, the Bonnyville detachment has "struggled through some tough times in the human resources department" in the last year, according to Parke.
Although on paper Bonnyville RCMP is fully staffed, they were often short-handed.
"Some of the contributing factors to this were long-term sick leave, volunteer discharge, pregnancy, and hard vacancies," she explained, adding the issue is being worked on.
Compared to last year, their priorities haven't changed. Their number one concern is reducing substance abuse, with the GIS unit continuing to target local drug trafficking through their investigations.
Local police will continue to conduct monthly patrols and check stops according to the Alberta traffic safety calendar. They will focus on crime reduction and habitual offender management, along with improving police and community relations and employee wellness with members.
Peace officer provides quarterly statistics
During his update to council, Khan outlined how he's collaborated with Bonnyville RCMP by assisting members with locating a vehicle that led to an arrest, among other scenarios.
When it came to incident reports, there was a total of 122 files generated with 59 tickets issued since the end of January this year. A total of 59 complaints regarding snow on sidewalks were made over the winter. Dogs running at large was another concern of residents. Khan received a total of eight calls in relation to that issue.
Since hitting the streets in March, there have been 41 violations or warnings given through the traffic safety program.
Khan described driving without registration as a "very big thing" in Bonnyville, with one warning and six citations handed out for driving without registration, while operating with expired plates had one citation and 10 warnings.
"A lot of people either don't have vehicle registration or fail to put the sticker on their plate, which is usually just letting them know, 'hey, put that sticker on,'" Khan said.
Nine warnings were given in relation to abandoned vehicles, four for improperly parked vehicles, and three for tinted windows and driving without a license in possession.
The majority of citations issued were for distracted driving with seven, followed by driving without registration at six, and parking on sidewalks at three.
Khan is also working with the Bonnyville and District FCSS to organize a car seat clinic, which will allow residents to see if their child's seat is properly hooked up to their vehicle.
