OLDS — The Town of Olds' council list of policing priorities it wants Olds RCMP to tackle during 2025-26 is the same as it was last year.
That list of priorities, approved by the municipality's council during a spring meeting, is:
1. crime reduction (property crimes);
2. community engagement -- be clear, accountable, and transparent, and encourage citizens to report crimes;
3. mental health and violence in relationships -- enhance awareness and education; and
4. promote road safety.
It was noted that during a previous council discussion on policing priorities, council had called for priority no. 1 to say “property and person crime.”
Coun. James Cummings echoed a point he’d made during that earlier discussion.
“Property and person crimes includes all crimes,” he said, adding that it thus “contradicts itself” to mention specific crimes such as those to persons.
“We can’t specifically specify everything we have in this,” he said.
Cummings said in his recollection, during the previous discussion, council came around to the notion that it would be best to focus on property crime “because that seems to be rather prevalent in our town versus persons crimes.”
“It doesn’t exclude persons crimes obviously,” he added. “They’re going to investigate and ensure that all crime is targeted, but when they ask for priorities, they generally want a priority, not just ‘hey, would you solve crimes?’”
“Once again, our council appreciates your proactive approach to addressing policing in our community,” Dahl wrote at the end of the letter containing the policing priorities. “Please know council members are here to support you.”
