Stolen vehicles/items slight down, drugs & assaults up in 2024 Bonnyville RCMP crime stats

Some crime categories are slightly up, some are slightly down in the Bonnyville area in 2024.

S/Sgt. Sarah Parke gave a presentation to Bonnyville town council on Tuesday outlining crime statistics for the detachment area in 2024 to date with comparisons to previous years.

In the last iteration of the crime severity index in 2023 before it was discontinued, Bonnyville ranked second in Alberta, behind St. Paul.

CSI was a measure of how much crime there is combined with the overall seriousness of the crime, and aggregated with the population size. However, reporting on this has changed after lobbying from small communities to the feds.

So far in 2024, 151 vehicles have been stolen in the Bonnyville detachment area, compared to 191 in 2023, and 160 in 2022.

Operation Cold Start is an initiative that looked to reduce vehicle thefts in the winter months.

Bonnyville RCMP members checked on unattended, idling vehicles to see if the keys were in them, and whether or not they were properly secured, and in cases where they weren’t, the member called the registered owner and had an educational conversation with them about taking more preventative steps to keep their vehicle safe.

In other stolen item categories, theft over and under $5000 (items other than a vehicle), 300 charges have been laid in 2024. This is a drop from 418 in 2023 and 463 in 2022.

In terms of possession of stolen property under and over $5000, 2024 is on a three-year high. One hundred twenty-nine charges have been laid this year, up three from last year, and 22 more than in 2022.

Break and enters to businesses are a on three-year low, with 60 incidences, almost half as less than in 2022.

Drugs, violent crimes

However, there has been an uptick in drug related crimes, and assaults.

Related to possession and drug trafficking, 60 charges have been laid up until Nov. 21, more than the last two years.

Assaults, assault with a weapon, and aggravated assaults have a total of 304 situations in 2024, which is slightly higher than the last two years as well. This does not include sexual assaults.

There was a time when the Bonnyville General Investigation Section was understaffed with vacancies. Comprised of three positions, two are currently staffed, and S/Sgt. Parke said the expectation is to fill that vacancy in the winter.

The Bonnyville GIS unit continues investigating Janelle Arnold, the former teacher, who has been charged by the Bonnyville GIS unit in September 2024 for sexual interference and sexual assault.

Mental Health calls

S/Sgt. Parke said mental health issues remain a prevalent part of day to day policing.

To date, Bonnyville RCMP have been involved in 172 mental health related calls, which is right on track to finish at the same total as 2023.

One of the new strategies in provincial policing has been the creation of a specialized unit called the Regional Police And Crisis Team (RPACT).

Bonnyville Detachment relies on assistance from two RPACT teams, one stationed out of St. Paul and the other out of Cold Lake. RPACT teams are comprised of one RCMP member and one security cleared AHS nurse that rides along in the police car with the RCMP member.

Their mandate is to assist Detachments with their calls for dispatch involving mental health clients and can take over that call, which means they will be the one transporting the client to the nearest designated facility.

That frees up the local member to remain in their detachment area to continue taking calls and policing proactively.

The RCMP has also developed a mental health app called Health IM to assist officers in real-time when dealing with mental health clients.

The app collects data on the scene and uploads it to the nearest AHS facility, providing detailed information to nursing staff.

Body-worn cameras

St. Paul was one of three communities in Alberta that was part of the body-worn camera pilot project. That is now being implemented across the country, as the equipment is collected.

Between 10,000-15,000 body-worn cameras will be deployed to contract and federal police officers who interact with communities, across Canada’s rural, urban and remote locations.

Out in the community

Included in the presentation were the various visits to schools and positive appearances in the community that the detachment work towards, particularly with children.

The goal for the current fiscal year is 60 and currently the Bonnvyille Detachment sits at 46 community engagements, and should meet and exceed the goal by March 2025.

This includes being present at MMIWG vigils, Remembrance Day ceremonies, and various community events.

Engagement session

READ MORE: Bonnyville S/Sgt describes “catch and release” as frustrating in community engagement feedback