SUNDRE – While impaired driving enforcement remains an area of focus for the local RCMP department, instances of fraud targeting seniors have also surfaced as an area of concern.
Cpl. Courtney Harding, who for approximately 13 months has been serving as the Sundre detachment’s acting commander, recently presented council with a quarterly report of statistics and activities for the period spanning from January to March.
The corporal outlined on June 9 during a regular meeting the four main policing priorities as identified by the community through engagement opportunities. The first is police and community relations, the second is crime reduction, the third is mental health and substance abuse, and the fourth is traffic enforcement.
Members continue to monitor high-risk and prolific offenders who are out on community release orders, and throughout the quarter completed 43 curfew checks for six offenders, she said.
“Our impaired operation of motor vehicles continue to be a concern for Sundre and area,” she later added.
“We are amping up our efforts there for the enforcement of impaired operations,” she said.
“I’m happy to say that those efforts have provided us with several charges in relation to impaired driving.”
But Harding added she remains concerned that impaired motorists can so easily be found and said education combined with enforcement and a physical presence are key.
“Hopefully, we can deter that sort of behaviour in the future.”
Officers also continue to conduct patrols out in rural areas, where break-and-enters at oil lease sites generally involving copper wire theft that result in tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to oilfield companies are still occurring.
There were 14 mental health related calls for service in the first three months of 2025, of which six required apprehensions under the Mental Health Act, she said, adding Regional Police and Crisis Team referrals continue to be completed when appropriate.
“They continue to be an excellent resource,” she said.
Members also investigated 52 traffic related complaints as well as 20 speeding complaints. Additionally, there were four alcohol-related roadside suspensions, she said.
As work on the province’s Highway 27 project progresses, police have also been coordinating with the municipality’s own traffic services, she said, adding there are some concerns about motorists who still occasionally drive down the wrong way along the west-bound detour.
“Myself, on Friday alone, I managed to witness three people just on my one shift that were going the wrong way down the one-way, usually trying to shortcut,” she said. “So, they were well aware of what they were doing and they proceeded to do it anyway.”
The RCMP is working with the town’s peace and bylaw officers as well as construction teams to enhance signage and various safety measures, she said.
“But thankfully, not too many concerns aside from that.”
With the recent arrival of an experienced officer who transferred to the detachment from the Victoria Police Department and the impending start date of Cpl. Lindsey Anderson who had previously spent some time in Sundre on assignment, the department will be fully staffed, she said.
Going over some crime statistics, the corporal brought up the matter of fraud. While some of the victims were younger, most of the files involved seniors who fell prey to online romance scams as well as stock or bitcoin scams.
There were even some instances involving the fraudulent use of Amazon accounts and a more common trend of Facebook marketplace scams, she said.
“We see a wide array of frauds that have been taking place in Sundre.”
Following her presentation, Coun. Owen Petersen inquired what the department is in a position to do in response to fraud.
“Because it’s such a small detachment, do you have any resources to tackle those things?” Petersen asked.
The corporal said that as far as proactive enforcement goes, “the best thing we can do is education.”
Whether through media releases, community meetings or even seminars with residents at seniors’ lodges, she said, “Contact with the community is really going to be our number one line of defence.
Due to the nature of fraud, such files are difficult to predict and police respond after the fact with an emphasis on education.
Such investigations are also time consuming and labour intensive, and how an investigation is approached may depend on the amount lost and whether investing the necessary resources is in the public interest to proceed, she said, referring to the cost versus benefit.
Coun. Jaime Marr asked whether the construction had hampered the RCMP’s ability to respond when members are activated in an emergency.
“It certainly slows us down because we have to take the detour like anyone else,” said Harding, adding motorists are by and large accommodating.
There have also been some slowdowns due to the work on the Red Deer River bridge that started earlier in June and is soon expected to be completed. The road for the time being is reduced to one-way alternating traffic.
“But the flaggers and construction crews have been fabulous,” the corporal said.
“Usually, they hear us coming,” she said, adding members may have to stop and wait for traffic to clear depending on which direction they’re headed.
“It’s not slowing us down too much, but it is a little bit more of a delay for sure.”
