Drayton Valley is doing better than Edson on the crime front.
That is what’s shown by the data Drayton Valley RCMP Staff Sergeant Erin Matthews presented when she delivered the monthly crime statistics to Drayton Valley town council on June 15.
In order to provide a fresh perspective, Matthews brought the crime statistics for Edson as well, to show how Drayton Valley stacks up to a community of similar size.
When looking at the statistics for January to April 2022, Drayton Valley had an eight per cent increase in criminal code offences, when compared to the same time period in 2021. Edson had a 17 per cent increase in criminal code offences.
Breaking those numbers down, Drayton Valley had a 10 per cent decrease in property crimes, while Edson had a seven per cent increase. Drayton Valley had a 47 per cent increase in other criminal code offences, while Edson had a 107 per cent increase.
The only number where Edson is outperforming Drayton Valley is persons crimes. Drayton Valley had a 26 per cent increase, while Edson had a 16 per cent decrease.
Matthews said the purpose of the comparison was to show there are a number of external factors that go into crime.
“It really is dependent on where we live and what is going on,” explained Matthews.
Matthews then went into breaking down the statistics for May 2022.
The Drayton Valley RCMP had 262 calls in May 2022.
One of the statistics that Matthews highlighted was eight break and enters. She noted that one of those break-ins was reported a month after the fact.
“There is not much we can do with something like that unless it is reported fairly quickly,” said Matthews.
There were seven vehicle thefts in May 2022. Matthews pointed out one where the suspects were repeat offenders. Since January 2021, the two suspects had accumulated a total of 70 charges between the two of them, but kept getting released on conditions.
“This time, they were finally remanded, but that was also after they rammed two police cars,” explained Matthews. “And the dogs got called out, and that is why the helicopter was flying overhead.”
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