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‘Report a Drug House’ program is running in the Olds area

Police urge residents to report odd activities
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Notice a suspiciously quiet or unusually busy home in the Olds area?

Olds RCMP urges residents to Report a Drug House by calling or texting 403-586-TIPS.

The detachment started its own pilot program last spring to take anonymous calls from the public about suspicious activities in local residences.

Unusual signs include vehicles coming and going all day and night, or no traffic at all. This could mean the residence is either being used as a base for drug trafficking, or as an illegal drug lab.

Cpl. Shawn Morgan said Central Albertans have shown rising alarm about property crimes, “and we all know these are connected to the drug trade.”

The Olds RCMP started the local TIPS line to see if some citizens would feel more comfortable phoning or texting a local detachment rather than dealing with the provincial Crime Stoppers program.

But Morgan is again needing to raise public awareness of the Report a Drug House program because not a lot of local information has come in, so far. Some of the tips received on the line concerned activities outside the Olds detachment’s area, so were passed on to other RCMP stations.

Anyone wanting to rid their neighbourhood of criminals should keep an eye out for unusual activities, he added, as “we can only patrol so much.”

The Olds RCMP is responsible not only for the Town of Olds, but also for Bowden and the hamlets of Torrington and Wimborne.

“People who live in a place know best what fits in their (neighbourhood) and what doesn’t,” said Morgan, who believes police officers are most effective at stopping criminals when they have partnerships with community members.

The pilot project, started with an Alberta Justice grant, will run for a year and then be assessed.



lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com

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