Photo: S/Sgt. Rob Welsman reports to the Town of Hanna council at their Mar. 25 COW meeting. Screenshot

The Town of Hanna council heard about the challenges police face when responding to mental health calls. The report was made at the Mar. 25 committee of the whole (COW) meeting.

Councillors heard a quarterly update from Hanna RCMP detachment commander S/Sgt. Rob Welsman, who stated that the report had been forwarded to councillors for their perusal beforehand and that Welsman also hoped to discuss community policing priorities with council.

Welsman stated that, looking at the most recent incident numbers, crime rates seem static in and around Hanna, as nothing really significant stood out. The S/Sgt. pointed out that he keeps an eye on changes to crime rates to see if trends are being revealed, which could suggest an area that should become a priority.

Welsman stated he also wanted to gather input from councillors on community policing priorities, which are the areas that RCMP focus on over the coming year. Last year’s priorities included traffic, proactive community engagement and court-imposed condition enforcement.

Looking at traffic, Welsman noted this priority involves writing tickets or warnings, with this priority being broad. He pointed out the Hanna RCMP sometimes partners with Alberta Sheriffs to do traffic checks, with sheriffs concentrating on commercial vehicles while RCMP focus on other issues.

Welsman stated that Hanna RCMP performs a lot of proactive community engagement, which includes activities like attending ceremonies, visiting schools or putting on presentations like fraud awareness. Welsman stated this priority has been on the list for a few years and he advised that it remain there.

The third priority was court-imposed condition enforcement, which the S/Sgt. noted involves monitoring offenders living in the community with court-imposed conditions. Welsman stated conditions can include things like a curfew or no alcohol. He stated that if a broken condition is found, then information is forwarded to the Crown prosecutor.

Another priority, which Welsman described as “more in-house,” was police and public safety training to increase preparedness; he noted that Hanna RCMP recently attended an emergency management exercise with several other municipalities.

The S/Sgt. noted that he wished to gather input from council and other community members on what policing priorities should be for the next year. Welsman stated that he hoped to gather the input by Apr. 1, followed by drafting the priority list in Apr., then begin examining proposed priorities to see how RCMP can address them.

Mayor Danny Povaschuk observed that oilfield crime, specifically theft, appears to be on the rise again. The mayor stated that multiple oilfield sites he’s aware of have been targeted by burglars.

The mayor added that he wanted to acknowledge the high public visibility the Hanna RCMP have offered.

Coun. Erica Rorabeck asked Welsman if the Hanna RCMP conduct checkstops, to which Welsman answered yes; checkstops are held and a public notice is usually issued beforehand as well. Welsman noted Hanna RCMP recently investigated a suspected case of impaired driving that also involved a motor vehicle collision. Again, he pointed out that when sufficient evidence is gathered, formal charges are sent to the Crown prosecutor.

Coun. Vern Thuroo asked if police will assist in a bicycle safety course again, hopefully in the spring. Welsman responded yes; police would certainly participate in that course, pointing out the previous one was very popular.

Coun. Brenda Karg observed a number of mental health calls recorded in the quarterly police report.

The S/Sgt. noted that mental health calls are challenging for police and RCMP get called to quite a number of them, with the possibility of apprehending someone. Welsman stated RCMP may assess the situation and connect people with mental health resources within the community.