Local crime rates way down

By Ken Johnston
Editor

Staff Sgt. Dave Lucas of the Ontario Provincial Police visited Rainy River town council last Tuesday evening to talk about policing in the community for 2007.
Crime statistics offered by Lucas show a marked decline in criminal activities involving the police here over 2006 from Jan. to Sept. 30.
Overall the number of incidents declined by about 17.5% from 262 in 2006 to 223 in 2007.
Violent crimes were down from 11 to 7.
Property crimes were down by half from 38 to 19.
Drug crimes were down from 5 to 2.
Impaired drivers went up from 0 to 2.
Motor vehicle collisions declined from 12 to 5.
Lucas noted that the approx. number of hours of policing Rainy River received directly was up from 1,847.75 hrs. to 1,953.75 hrs.
Lucas said a report made at a previous council meeting by a councillor that when officers retire from the force in Rainy River they will not be replaced upon their retirement is false. “They will be replaced and when they report for their shift they will begin it here and end it here,” affirmed Lucas.
Lucas informed council that work on establishing a Neighbourhood Watch in Rainy River is underway thanks to the efforts of RR council and Constable Doug Irish. A public meeting to start such a program is scheduled for this Thursday at RRHS. All members of the community are welcome to come and learn about the program. “The Neighbourhood Watch Program is an enhancement of policing here in the community and will not replace anything (such as policing by the OPP) here,” said Lucas.
Lucas noted that the detachment has added a new position for a second in command. They have also dedicated two full time officers to a RR District Traffic Unit. They will focus on the detachment’s traffic safety plan, which includes enforcement of impaired drivers, aggressive drivers and seatbelt legislation. They also enforce marine, motorized snow vehicle and ATV legislation.
District Resource Coordination efforts are now being created so that in the event of a community emergency access to all needed resources, such as the Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Environment, etc. can be easily accessed. Lucas noted that local Emergency Measures Officials will still coordinate things at the local level. “This is just an effort to best allow access to resources in a streamlined way,” said Lucas.