Drayton Valley RCMP are working at stepping up their community involvement.
At council’s Feb. 9 meeting, Drayton Valley Staff Sargeant Erin Matthews came by to deliver quarterly crime statistics.
Matthews did say she spent most of the end of 2021 out in the community, attending a variety of community meetings to get a better feel for how things are in the Drayton Valley RCMP’s jurisdiction.
“I was able to get into town hall meetings in the county, and my hope is that I can look forward to, especially with some of the restrictions being lifted here, into having a town hall meeting for Drayton Valley, sometime in March,” said Matthews.
Matthews is also welcoming some new members to Drayton Valley. According to Matthews, a new member joined the Drayton detachment on Feb. 7, another is due to start on Feb. 24, and a third arriving sometime in March.
Matthews did not have much to share in the way of monthly crime statistics. She says they are not too much different from the statistics she presented in January, as they are still working off the numbers from the end of 2021.
There was a rise in motor vehicle thefts, and Matthews expressed her frustration that there were a lot of repeat offenders.
“We keep getting them, but they keep getting released. Which is another meeting that I am on, because we are trying to come up with some appropriate solutions with the issues with the judicial system right now,” said Matthews.
Circling back to the new members coming to the detachment, Councillor Bill Balas wanted to know if it is getting easier to attract more experienced members, rather than always getting new constables fresh out of the RCMP Training Academy, also known as Depot.
Matthews said that Drayton Valley is getting a better reputation, and more experienced members are expressing a desire to come to Drayton, but it is a double edged sword.
“It is OK to want a so-called ‘experienced’ member to come in, but sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for,” explained Matthews. “Individuals that are coming straight out of Depot are keen, they are gung-ho, and they are excited to actually put some boots on the ground and do some good work.”
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