By Medicine Hat News on February 7, 2024.
Redcliff RCMP presented their enhanced officer report to Cypress County on Tuesday, covering both the July-September and October-December quarters. Property crime has increased drastically, said Staff Sgt. Michael Courty during the report, with a 102 per cent increase from July to September, compared to previous years, with these mostly being theft of vehicles or of property from vehicles. Traffic crime has also increased, including a few serious collisions resulting in injury. Crime in the area is otherwise down. “From 2022 to 2023, though,” said Courty. “Everything was down.” The body-worn camera initiative has been found to not meet requirements; Courty specifically noted that prairie wind often prevented the attached microphones from clearly picking up conversations. Priorities remain rural crime prevention, traffic enforcement and maintaining a positive presence within the communities, which Courty said will continue to improve as resources return. 7