CRIME IN P.A

Key Issues In Prince Albert Make For One Of Busiest
Police Forces In The Province

Crime in P.A. is too high says the police chief, but the force is
making gains. Herald illustration by Brigette Jobin

Prince Albert's police chief has said it over and over -- crime is too
high in the city.

Even though the local force has one of the highest rates of solving
crimes in Canada, chief Dale McFee says there is never a shortage of
new crimes to fight.

"I think (crime) is too high in our city and the province which means
we have to be that much more diligent," said McFee.

Prince Albert City Police has been heading in the right direction -- it
saw a 14 per cent decrease in crimes against property in 2006 -- but
reducing crime never happens overnight.

There are some key issues that make Prince Albert's officers some of
the busiest in the country.

Substance Abuse

It is estimated that 80 per cent of crime in Prince Albert is related
to substance abuse.

In order for those crimes to go down, McFee says the addiction itself
must be addressed.

"We have to deal with the addictions component. We have to break the
cycle and drill away at the roots," he said.

For a while now, the police force has been voicing concerns about
public intoxication in the city and the need for a rehab centre.

"We've said it's been an issue for some time," said McFee. "Public
intoxication is extremely high."

Half of the arrests police make are for public intoxication.

"It's frustrating but it's a necessary part of the job," said McFee,
adding that if intoxicated people weren't arrested, then they might go
on to do worse crimes later under the influence of the alcohol or drugs.

He says Prince Albert needs to find a way to help addicts and get them
back on track.

Transients

"We've got a large transient population that is in and out of our city
on a regular basis," says McFee. "We're policing a much larger area
than Prince Albert itself."

Being the Gateway to the North, Prince Albert becomes the hub for
activity, including criminal activity. McFee says 37 per cent of
arrests are of people living outside the city.

In speaking with justice and law enforcement officials, McFee said 10
per cent is considered high for out-of-town arrests.

"We're very unique. They say we're the Gateway to the North and with
that comes good and bad things. We need to balance that."

In the past year and half, City Police have been tracking where the
arrested people are from finding that many are not from the city itself.

McFee said the force always concentrates on Prince Albert but given
the high out-of-town arrests, they must also put focus on surrounding
communities.

Workload

"We're a very busy police service," says McFee.

Prince Albert officers lay Criminal Code charges twice that of the
national average.

One way to deal with the high workload is by adding officers. The
other is to concentrate more efforts on preventing crime and targeting
youth before they make bad decisions.

"What we can do is to make sure (youth) don't enter the system," said
the chief.

Even though the officers are busy, McFee is proud of the fact his
force has one of the highest rates for solving crimes in the country.

Community

Although crime is higher than McFee would like, he says gains are
being made.

It doesn't matter where anyone lives, there will be crime. Every city
has issues, he said.

The successes the police have are due to good police work and a
community that cares and assists police with combating crime by
reporting it.

"We've had big wins and that is in part to the citizens who've said
'enough is enough,'" said McFee.