The crime rate in Olds is very low, according to Olds RCMP detachment commander Staff Sgt. Joe Sangster.
He made that comment during an Olds and District Chamber of Commerce meeting Sept. 10 at the Ramada.
“You folks in this community are very lucky. I've been in some places where it's not even close. I was the detachment commander in Three Hills. I was busier over there than I am here,” Sangster said.
He said that has a lot to do with the way the community bands together and helps the police when problems occur.
“The thing is, folks come together when bad things happen. A prime example of that is the armed robbery at the bank. We got the guy. He got eight years for that. Folks inside the bank – citizens -- put themselves at risk to get that guy,” Sangster said.
In addition, Sangster said he and the Olds RCMP in general are making a concerted effort to make partnerships with various entities in the town in order to combat/prevent crime.
“The only way you're going to be effective in a community is you've got to have a community. It takes a community to police a community. And if we think we're going to do it all by ourselves, we're going to fail, miserably,” he said.
Sangster has been at the Olds RCMP detachment for more than a year. Since that time, he's been working on establishing partnerships in the community. Examples of partnerships formed so far include Rural Crime Watch, Citizens On Patrol, and Olds College.
Help is also coming from four members of the community who were sworn in as auxiliary members this past week.
Those partnerships have already borne fruit.
“We've had some major incidents going on here and Rural Crime Watch, Citizens on Patrol, were key folks in bringing those to a successful conclusion: bad guys being arrested and going to jail,” Sangster said.
He noted about a year ago, a rash of break-ins and fires occurred in the area, stretching from Sundre to Red Deer.
With the help of partners, “we were able to put a few people in jail,” Sangster said. “A few people didn't go to jail who should have gone to jail, but that's beyond my control.”
He said Rural Crime Watch's purchase last year of two mountain bikes for local RCMP is another example of that partnership.
“Money's always tight. I've got to be accountable for every cent I spend. I couldn't find money (for those mountain bikes). Rural Crime Watch stepped up and bought us two mountain bikes,” Sangster said. “It's been fabulous; kids making comments to us as they're going by that ‘it's unfair, you guys are supposed to be in cars. It's unfair, stop it.'”
Although good work is being done to prevent crime, Sangster sees room for more improvement.
One high priority is focusing on youth and getting them to see the police as their friends.
“We want those folks to grow up knowing the police as it's Joe, it's Shaun – know our guys by our first names. It's something that hopefully we can continue to work on and get better at,” he said.
Another priority is communicating more with the public.
“We get caught up in just working and we've got to get out there and talk to folks,” he said.
Sangster was asked if vandalism has been curbed in the town.
“It's not a problem here,” he said.
He said that problem stopped in a very short time – too short to nab the perpetrator.
“It could have been a transient; it could have been anybody,” he said.
Pull Quote
"We've had some major incidents going on here and Rural Crime Watch. Citizens on Patrol, were key folks in bringing those to a successful conclusion: bad guys being arrested and going to jail,"
