Despite an increase in reports of vandalism to city property last year, Mayor Nolan Crouse says property crime has been trending downwards since 2010.
Despite an increase in reports of vandalism to city property last year, Mayor Nolan Crouse says property crime has been trending downwards since 2010.
Data compiled by the public works department shows there were fewer than half as many incidents reported in 2015 compared to 2010, although 2015 does show a marked increase over the previous year.
Crouse said despite the fact the reports of vandalism nearly doubled to 216 in 2015 from 127 in 2014, that nonetheless suggests a long-term decrease from the reported 476 incidents in 2010.
“With that last data point you could argue it's going up, but what I'm seeing is a long-term trend from 500 to 200,” he said.
He credits the city's many crime-prevention efforts – including Neighbourhood Watch, school resource officers, drug awareness programs and increased police visibility on the city's walking paths – as being major contributors to this decline.
“Over a period of years, you do things that are intended to remove crime and criminals from your community,” Crouse said. “The statistics are showing in St. Albert that a lot of this good work is happening.”
Tony Lake, the city's public works director, explained the numbers the department tracks deals with any sort of vandalism, including things like doors on a rink shack kicked in, but said about 80 or 90 per cent of those reports are graffiti on public property like the skateboard park, walking paths and retaining walls.
He said while he's relatively new in the department, the reduction could be in part attributed to quick response from department staff – they aim to have a graffiti cleaned up within 24 hours of it being reported.
“I think the typical improvement comes with quickening our response to remedying it – getting rid of the vandalism, and basically taking away that element of mischievous pride they get by having their graffiti plastered there,” he said.
Crouse points to other statistics, such as an overall reduction in Criminal Code offences and a reduced crime-severity rating, that show St. Albert has some of the lowest crime rates in the province.
He referred to the so-called broken window theory, which posits that if would-be vandals see property that has already been vandalized, then they are more likely to add to the problem. By cleaning up vandalism quickly, the city provides a disincentive to those vandals.
Specific figures on property offences recorded by St. Albert RCMP weren't available by press time, but Cpl. Laurel Kading said a close working relationship between police and city staff has been instrumental in reducing vandalism in public spaces.
With reports from the city, police can target problem areas with more bike and cart patrols and in turn have seen reductions in vandalism and other crimes in those particular areas.
“Of course, it is important to continue this partnership as it has proven to be a very effective model,” she said.
