Body cameras and crime stats: Redcliff RCMP presents quarterly update to county council

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on January 15, 2025.

asmith@medicinehatnews.com

The Redcliff RCMP on Tuesday provided an Enhanced Officer Report to Cypress County council, the latter’s first regular meeting of 2025.

The local detachment provided an update on the implementation of body-worn cameras – a subject of interest in the region for an extended period of time. Staff Sgt. Michael Courty said it was currently unknown when the Redcliff detachment will receive the cameras, though it’s expected that they will be seen at some point within the year.

“We don’t have the docking station yet, which we need first in order to download them,” said Courty. “But they say we should see them out in the whole country within 12-18 months from when this came out in December.”

Communication will be put out to the public closer to the implementation of the cameras.

They also let council know about an RCMP Public Consultation Tool, anticipated to be launched in early 2025. The tool aims to solicit feedback from RCMP stakeholders, to increase transparency in policing and contribute to the vision of an inherently open RCMP.

During the reported quarter, there was a noted increase in property crime activity, though total crime has seen a 38 per cent decrease for the quarter compared to last year. The detachment says it continues to liaise with the Southern Alberta District Crime Reduction Unit and Medicine Hat Police Analyst to stay on top of emerging trends and criminal activity in the area, as Courty says many of the issues happening within the county are happening elsewhere in the region, occasionally with the same individuals.

The detachment is still short staffed, Courty says, with three hard vacancies and one soft. Despite this, during the reported period, the detachment was able to issue 140 violation tickets in regards to traffic safety.

Redcliff RCMP continues to work on being a positive presence, from hosting Bike Rodeos at Redcliff Days to the ongoing Lock it or Lose It campaign, which aims to make residents more aware of the condition of their vehicles to better prevent thefts.

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