No crime tip is too small say police.
Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer and RCMP Supt. Ken Foster could not stress enough how important it is for people to phone in when they are victims of crime or see something suspicious — even if it only seems minor at the time.
“It’s absolutely imperative that our citizens report and that if our citizens see something they say something,” said Veer at a Monday morning news conference where RCMP showed off a huge haul of firearms and other weapons they seized last month.
Veer said she knows many residents are “highly frustrated” with the amount of property crime in Red Deer.
In response, RCMP rolled out Project Pinpoint two years ago. Police say it is a targeted, evidence-based policing approach that uses intelligence-driven analysis to identify repeat offenders, recurring addresses and crime hot spots.
Foster said all reported crimes are useful when their analysts are crunching data to pinpoint likely offenders.
A homeowner may not see their particular theft solved or the culprit arrested, but the information provided is useful.
“The analytics is where that becomes very important,” he said.
“Some people think, well, it’s just a theft from a shed or a theft from a vehicle. But it all feeds this whole criminality activity and lifestyle.”
Weapons stolen by a break-and-enter crook often get passed up to armed robbers or home invaders feeding the “cycle of criminality,” he said.
Anyone with information on a crime is asked to contact the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or report it at www.tipsubmit.com.
pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter