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Crime

Increases in sexual assaults and kidnapping, but overall crime rates in Red Deer down significantly

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From the City of Red Deer

Crime statistics released for third quarter of 2018

Red Deer’s crime statistics for the third quarter of 2018 continue to show decreases in property crime totals and persons crimes when compared to the same time period in 2017.  This downward trend has continued over the last four consecutive quarters, beginning in October 2017 and continuing through September 30, 2018.  Total Criminal Code files also continue to show a decrease when compared to the same time periods the year before.

Property crime numbers for the third quarter show a 31% decrease in break and enters: 979 so far this year, compared to 1,129 during the same time period in 2017.  Likewise, theft of motor vehicles in 2018 are at 728, compared to 1,148 for the same time period in 2017 – a 37% decrease and the lowest theft of vehicle numbers Red Deer has seen in five years.

Fraud, theft under $5,000 and mischief to property also show similar decreases.  Total property crimes for 2018 have decreased to 8,977 from 12,987 over the same time frame in 2017, a 31% decrease.  Property crimes numbers for the first nine months of 2018 are the lowest they’ve been in the last five years.

 

In persons crimes, Red Deer has seen a 29% decrease in robberies compared to the same time period in 2017. Sexual assaults, however, continue to increase – the numbers are 35% higher than the same time frame in 2017.  Traffic collisions resulting in injury decreased from last year, while collisions involving property damage continue to be slightly higher than in 2017.  Traffic fatalities, however, have increased – Red Deer has experienced two fatalities as a result of traffic collisions so far this year.

Red Deer RCMP have seen consistent increase in calls to the RCMP complaint line in 2018, indicating the public’s commitment to reporting crime and helping police to target hot spots.  Calls to the complaint line have increased from 38,500 in the first nine months of 2017 to 39,781 in 2018, an increase of 3%.

“RCMP understand that crime feels more visible to the community than ever.  It can be difficult to believe that crime rates are declining when citizens see so many reports on crime-focused social media sites, and when some businesses keep getting hit by the same handful of career criminals.  But the overall numbers are in fact going down, and our commitment is to keep putting the pressure on those repeat offenders and returning them to jail at every opportunity,” says Superintendent Ken Foster, officer in charge of the Red Deer RCMP. “There are so many committed citizens in the community helping police every day, and we thank you for that.”

Crime statistics for each Alberta RCMP-policed jurisdiction are gathered by RCMP operations support analysts. These statistics are gathered in the same way for every detachment to ensure they are comparable and meet Statistics Canada requirements.

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Addictions

British Columbia should allow addicts to possess even more drugs, federal report suggests

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Despite the drug crisis only getting worse in British Columbia after decriminalization, a federal report by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research advocates for further relaxing its policy so addicts can possess even more drugs.

Despite the drug crisis only worsening since decriminalization, federal researchers are now advocating for British Columbia to allow the possession of even larger quantities of cocaine, claiming that current possession limits don’t allow addicts to buy enough.

According to a federal report published April 23 by Blacklock’s Reporter, the current decriminalization program in British Columbia approved by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has set cocaine possession limits “too low.”

“People who use drugs are less concerned about being arrested and feel more comfortable carrying substances they need,” said the report by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. “The threshold of 2.5 grams is too low and is unreflective of users’ substance use and purchasing patterns.” 

Under the policy, which launched in early 2023, the federal government began allowing people within the province to possess up to 2.5 grams of hard drugs – including cocaine, opioids, ecstasy and methamphetamine – without criminal penalty, but selling drugs remained a crime.   

The policy has been widely criticized, especially after it was found that the province broke three different drug-related overdose records in the first month the new law was in effect.   

However, now researchers are claiming that the new policy is insufficient for drug users.   

“People who use drugs indicated the 2.5 gram threshold is too low and unreflective of their substance use patterns,” the report stated. “Although some people indicated the policy wouldn’t impact their purchasing patterns because they are unable to purchase large amounts at a time, others suggested it may force them to seek out substances more frequently which could increase their risk of harms.”  

“Buying in bulk may be more economical particularly for people who use drugs,” it continued, adding that it was “common practice to purchase in bulk and split or share among peers.”  

The recommendation comes as deaths from drug overdoses in Canada have gone through the roof in recent years, particularly in British Columbia.  

Gunn says he documents the “general societal chaos and explosion of drug use in every major Canadian city.”   

“Overdose deaths are up 1,000 percent in the last 10 years,” he said in his film, adding that “[e]very day in Vancouver four people are randomly attacked.”   

Similarly, even Liberals have begun to condemn Trudeau’s “safe supply” program, linking them to “chaos” in cities.  

Safe supply“ is the term used to refer to government-prescribed drugs that are given to addicts under the assumption that a more controlled batch of narcotics reduces the risk of overdose – critics of the policy argue that giving addicts drugs only enables their behavior, puts the public at risk, disincentivizes recovery from addiction and has not reduced, and sometimes even increased, overdose deaths where implemented.    

Last week, Liberal MP Dr. Marcus Powlowski revealed that violence from drug users has become a problem in Ottawa, especially in areas near so-called “safe supply” drug sites which operate within blocks of Parliament Hill.    

“A few months ago I was downtown in a bar here in Ottawa, not that I do that very often, but a couple of colleagues I met up with, one was assaulted as he was going to the bar, another one was threatened,” said Powlowski.   

“Within a month of that I was returning down Wellington Street from downtown, the Rideau Centre, and my son who is 15 was coming after me,” he continued. “It was nighttime and there was someone out in the middle of the street, yelling and screaming, accosting cars.”  

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Crime

Canadian receives one-year jail sentence, lifetime firearms ban for setting church on fire

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Jordan Willet was convicted of starting a blaze in February at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Regina, Saskatchewan.

A man who was charged with arson after trying to burn down a historic Catholic church earlier this year was handed only a one-year jail sentence for his crime but has also been banned from being able to possess firearms for life.

On April 9, a court sentenced Jordan Willet, 31, to 278 days in jail for intentionally or recklessly causing damage by fire or explosion to property and for not complying with a probation order. In February, LifeSiteNews reported that Willet had been arrested and charged with starting a fire at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Regina, Saskatchewan, on February 9.

He pleaded guilty to both charges and also received an 18-month probation sentence along with a lifetime firearm prohibition.

Over the weekend, Fr. James Hentges, the parish pastor, said he was “relieved he is in custody and is not a threat.”

The parish had posted footage of the February 9 attack on social media and put out a plea for anyone who had information on the event to report it to police.

The video footage of the attack, taken from a doorbell camera, shows Willet, in a mask, pouring fuel on the church before setting it on fire.

Fire investigators determined that the blaze was caused by a direct act of arson.

Since the spring of 2021, more than 100 churches, most of them Catholic, have been burned or vandalized across Canada. The attacks on the churches came shortly after the unconfirmed discovery of “unmarked graves” at now-closed residential schools once run by the Church in parts of the country.

In 2021 and 2022, the mainstream media ran with inflammatory and dubious claims that hundreds of children were buried and disregarded by Catholic priests and nuns who ran some of the schools.

The claims, which were promoted by Trudeau among others, lack any physical evidence and were based solely on soil disturbances found via ground-penetrating radar.

In fact, in August 2023, one such site underwent a four-week excavation and yielded no remains.

Despite the lack of evidence, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and others have continued to push the narrative, even running a report recently that appeared to justify the dozens of attacks against Catholic churches.

In January, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre not only condemned the rash of church burnings in Canada but called out Trudeau for being silent on the matter.

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