HINTON RESIDENTS HAVE PONDERED MORE POLICING, BUT IS THERE REALLY A LAW
ENFORCEMENT PROBLEM?

Hinton Parklander -- Residents of Sunset Trailer Park organized a public
meeting in June to discuss Sunset's problem with crime and drugs.

Attended by more than 100 people, the meeting showed that Hintonites are
indeed concerned about the level of criminal activity in their community.

Also in attendance was Staff Sgt. Harold Milroy of the Hinton RCMP, who
fielded questions on why police didn't always immediately show up after a
resident had placed a call about suspicious activity. His answer was
straightforward -- there aren't enough officers available to go out and
check on every call.

"The public certainly has the right to certain expectations," Milroy said,
adding that the RCMP underwent fiscal cutbacks in the 1990s "There has to
be some understanding in what we can do."

Milroy prefers that the number of officers out on the street at a time not
be released, but it's fair to say that if a major car accident occurred on
the highway, a call about strange comings and goings at a neighbor's house
would have to wait.

So does Hinton have a problem with its policing level? Well, yes and no.

The answer is no compared to similar communities in the Yellowhead Region
according to statistics released by the Canadian Centre for Justice.
Hinton, with a population of 9,405 and with 13 municipal officers, has one
officer for every 723 residents, which is comparable to Whitecourt's ratio
of one per 731 residents and Edson's of one to 803.

However, the answer is yes when compared to a provincial average. A 2002
report released by the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association shows that
Alberta municipalities with a population larger then 2,500 had an average
of one officer per 624 residents.

But concerns with policing levels in Hinton may have a lot less to do with
statistics and more to do with perception. And right now a lot of that
perception is focused on Hinton's drug-related criminal activity.

The latest Town of Hinton customer satisfaction survey, released in the
spring, showed that 90 per cent of those surveyed named drug enforcement as
the top concern for town council.

"There's the situation that we as a community actively talk about some of
the issues, so people get anxious even if they haven't had personal
experience with those issues," explained town manager Bernie Kreiner.

And because Hinton is very open in its fight against drugs, the image as
Hinton as a drug-plagued town can form.

Then there are the property crimes, which Milroy said are often related to
the drug trade. In 1999, there were eight motor vehicle thefts while 2003
saw that number more than double to 19.

For an even higher increase, look at damage to property; in 1999, there
were 155 reported cases and in 2003 there were 372. Property crimes can
often be seen as a personal attack of sorts, said Milroy. That personal
nature can translate into a sense of fear and a desire for the police to
respond immediately, something that may not always be possible if the
on-duty officers are dealing with a more urgent situation.

Hinton RCMP recently switched to what Milroy, a 24-year RCMP veteran,
called a differential response model.

"We will respond to some calls and some calls we won't respond to," he said.

Examples of calls that may not get a response include non-injury, minor car
accidents or fraudulent checks that are less than a thousand dollars and
more than six months old.

Having more police officers would possibly give people an increase sense of
security but would it make an actual impact? That impact may depend on the
purpose of that extra officer.

Milroy believes one officer dedicated solely to proactive crime prevention
initiatives, like the DARE drug awareness program, would have a more
profound or direct influence on overall crime than one officer on the road
responding to calls.

Hinton currently has only one officer who is trained to deliver the
anti-drug DARE program. As a result, the program didn't run last year and
won't run next year. Milroy said the detachment does one-shot presentations
to the school about topics such as drug abuse but acknowledged that having
DARE back in the schools on a more regular basis would be the preferred option.

How much?

So how much would an extra officer cost? Kreiner said that one RCMP officer
costs about $82,000 so residents could expect to pay an additional 1.2 per
cent for each extra officer.

Paying for the RCMP is a complicated and expensive affair. The town covers
70 per cent of the one-million dollar budget, with the federal government
covering the remaining 30 per cent. The province provides money on the
municipal side in the form of a per capita grant.

"The current money that we were getting was more in the order of $8 (per
capita). Bargaining through all municipalities and the provincial solicitor
general we had hoped that we would get $32. Then the budget came out and
the actual amount was $17," Kreiner said. "We did get another $86,000
(overall) for policing but we were hoping for $160,000."

With a provincial election rumored for this November, Alberta's
municipalities might have an ideal opportunity to try and get that extra money.

"We will be raising the issue through the election because we think the
province has greater responsibility for policing costs in Alberta," Kreiner
said.

Hintonites will also be going to the polls on Oct. 8 to vote in the
municipal election, Kreiner added. Both he and Milroy believe that if the
public wants to express their concerns over the town's policing levels,
there are no better opportunities than the upcoming elections.

Policing levels can indeed increase, but it will only happen if residents
send a clear message saying that is what they want and that they are
prepared to pay.