Crime is down, in part thanks to the Cochrane RCMP's Crime Reduction Unit.
Insp. Lauren Weare with the local detachment revealed there has been a "tremendous improvement" since the boosted town funding has allowed for additional resources, including more officers to bump the "cop to pop" ratio down to one officer for every 1,215 people (with an eventual goal of 1:1000).
In 2018, the detachment had 23 regular members, seven clerical support staff and one crime analyst. Total calls for service last year were 13,710, of which 5,977 were in the Town of Cochrane; this is a 0.3 per cent increase over last year. Criminal case load per officer went down to an average of 70.2 from 80.
Referring to the work of the Crime Reduction Unit as "my baby," Weare and her team are heralding a 6-0 victory – where six out of six of the identified habitual Tier 1 offenders were successful apprehended.
"Crime reduction is having the exact effect that we wanted," said Weare, explaining that the team works to get to the root problem of habitual offenders and connect them to their required social services to reduce future chances of repeat offence.
Cochrane and Area Victim Services (CAVS), who the RCMP work hand-in-hand with, continue to increase their case load and call volume. Weare explained that CAVS is working on hiring an Indigenous support worker to be added to its staffing roster.
Cst. Nathan Moore is the dedicated youth liaison for the local RCMP. Weare said that the reception of Moore in this role has been a highlight for the detachment, as he focuses on high-risk youth while regularly visiting all Cochrane schools. The liaison's "three pillar approach" is centered on building relationships, crime prevention and education.
Some noticeable differences from 2017 to 2017 included an increase in traffic crimes, which Weare credits to enhanced enforcement – 21,02 last year and 1,749 the year before); a reduction in property crime from 1,028 to 976; and a reduction of common police activities to 1,301 from 1,351; drug offences also dropped to 38 last year from 51 the year before.
The population of the Town of Cochrane grew by 1,640 from 2017 to 2018.
Fire Services
Chief David Humphrey presented an overview to council of the 2018 year for Cochrane Fire Services.
A total of 1,117 service calls were made, of which 53 per cent were medically-related; 18 per cent relating to alarms; 14 per cent for rescue; 11 per cent for fire; and four per cent for gas-related incidents.
Last year, 149 public fire prevention education events were held and 617 public occupancy and business fire inspections were conducted.
Humphrey was not able to confirm the timing of second fire hall location – likely in Sunset Ridge or Fireside – as of yet.
Town council also passed the town's Emergency Management Plan. An updated Emergency Management Act has been legislated by the province and became effective last fall. A bylaw was created to ensure compliance.
Municipal Enforcement
Municipal Enforcement and Cochrane Fire Services also delivered their annual reports to council.
Frank Borsos with municipal enforcement highlighted his team's role as focusing on "low risk, high priority community needs," working closely with RCMP.
Last year, 1750 calls for service were made to bylaw. There were 573 animal-related incidents. There were 1230 provincial traffic violations last year and 372 municipal traffic violations.
