Almost every day I see great stories on the RCMP, local and surrounding areas, apprehending criminals. Tuesday’s (Sept. 28) Advocate was no different. There were two notable stories.
One was about a carjacking in Lacombe which ended up in Red Deer with a subsequent carjacking in Red Deer. The suspect was apprehended following a collision in the downtown area. It is evident that the Red Deer RCMP has a good working relationship with Lacombe Police and located the first vehicle which, unfortunately, lead to the second offense. It appears to me that due to strict regulations, the RCMP officers did not get into a ‘hot pursuit’ which the culprit, no doubt, took advantage of. The suspect, through his stupidity, caused a collision that resulted in his apprehension.
The second article in the paper was about a drug bust in Wetaskiwin. There had been a number of overdoses in that area recently which resulted in four people being arrested and charged for a number of offenses, including drug trafficking.
When I read stories like these I have to wonder why there is any thought of replacing the RCMP, provincially or municipally. The cost of the changeover alone would be extremely expensive. There would be no guarantee that what we get would be as efficient as our present force.
You might want to keep this in mind when you select your next mayoral candidate as there is one that thinks a change is necessary. I would certainly like to hear his justification for that.
Barry Riege, Red Deer