Sylvan Lake’s party atmosphere was somewhat subdued over the Canada Day weekend and that suited RCMP just fine.
Sgt. Duncan Babchuk said the long weekend wasn’t that bad for police who kept watch over any violations on the lake, as well as in the resort town.
“I’ve been here for seven years and we were quieter than we had been years back,” said Babchuk on Monday.
Although a number of people had flooded the town, people were generally well behaved.
The detachment brought in extra RCMP reinforcements to work overtime so they could conduct foot, vehicle and boat patrols.
The Mounties came from surrounding detachments, plus from places like Edmonton, Calgary and Leduc.
Babchuk said an additional six Mounties were on hand per shift.
“We had some prisoners, but it wasn’t overwhelming to what we had before,” Babchuk said.
Incidents in town included noisy parties, intoxicated individuals and there were some incidents of assault.
The town had a number of festivities on Friday to celebrate Canada’s 144th birthday, including a boat parade which drew an estimated 100 boats, Babchuk said.
RCMP had its own boat on the water, plus provincial peace officers patrolled by boat.
Some people were charged with having open liquor in their boat while some had no lifejackets or proper lighting on their boats.
“It wasn’t all about tickets,” said Babchuk, adding education also plays a key role.
Those who didn’t have proper documentation at the time had the chance to go to the station and show their records, Babchuk said.
Last month, 16 RCMP officers from across the province took part in a six-day program on Sylvan Lake to learn how to patrol waterways and do water rescues and boat maintenance.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com