Olds Rural Crime Watch Association (ORCWA) officials say the public should be further protected from dangerous criminals.
ORCWA will sending a resolution to the Alberta Provincial Rural Crime Watch Association calling for tougher rules for people found not criminally responsible for crimes.
That move follows a finding by a judge a few weeks ago that Matthew de Grood was not criminally responsible (NCR) for the deaths of five youths he stabbed to death in Calgary in April 2014.
Lawrence Hong, 27, Joshua Hunter, 23, Kaitlin Perras, 23, Zackariah Rathwell, 21, and Jordan Segura, 22, were all stabbed to death by de Grood at a house party in the Brentwood neighbourhood near the University of Calgary.
Justice Eric Macklin agreed with mental health experts who said de Grood was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time he murdered those youths and didn't understand that what he was doing was wrong.
Following the judge's verdict, parents of those youths issued a statement saying they can “never heal” as a result of that finding because, under the NCR designation, hearings will be held over the years to determine his state of mind and risk to the public.
Miles Hong, a spokesman for the families, said each time such a hearing is held it will reopen the emotional wounds they've suffered as a result of the deaths of their loved ones.
So they support a suggestion by the Crown that it might seek a high-risk designation for de Grood after he undergoes his first mental health review within the next 90 days.
If de Grood received a high-risk NCR designation, he would have to wait longer before his case would be reviewed and there would be tighter restrictions on his movements.
Calgary Crown prosecutor Neil Wiberg told reporters he'll look at the possibility of applying for that designation in August.
During an Olds Rural Crime Watch Association meeting May 25, association secretary Judy Schlichenmayer asked the group if they wanted to send a resolution in reaction to the concerns raised by the parents of those killed by de Grood.
Several of those in attendance at the meeting supported the idea.
When interviewed by the Gazette, Schlichenmayer had not yet written the resolution but she said when she does, it will call for the government to “strengthen the rules on designation of dangerous criminals.”
Schlichenmayer says the Olds association's resolution would be submitted to the provincial association this fall.
She warns if the provincial association does accept and pass the Olds association's resolution, that won't happen until February 2017.
Those speaking in response to Schlichenmayer's suggestion agreed that something should be done to strengthen the rules surrounding the NCR designation.
They noted Vince Li, the man who beheaded 22-year-old Tim McLean on a bus in Manitoba in 2008, was found NCR for that killing.
Li has since changed his name to Will Baker. In late February this year, he applied to be allowed to move out of a group home. A Criminal Code Review Board approved that plan following an assessment report that would detail conditions for his living in the community.
Reports say even if Li is allowed to live on his own, he would have to follow several conditions, including being monitored daily, regular check-ins with mental health professionals and submitting to random drug tests.
The ORCWA covers all of Mountain View County. It seeks out solutions to crime issues in the region.
Resolution will ask government to "strengthen the rules on designation of dangerous criminals."JUDY SCHLICH ENMAYER SECRETARY OLDS RURAL CRIME WATCH ASSOCIATION
