St. Albert RCMP saw over 2000 provincial traffic violation tickets issued this quarter, compared to 730 during the same timeframe in 2024 and saw an increase in motor vehicle theft, St. Albert RCMP Staff Sgt. Dwayne Moore told council when he delivered the quarterly report to city council on May 20.
The St. Albert RCMP Q4 report -- published on the May 20 city council agenda -- shows that the St. Albert RCMP saw 2028 total provincial traffic violation tickets issued from January to March 2025, compared to 730 during the same time period in 2024, a 178 per cent increase.
Traffic monitoring is being added as a fourth priority, Moore said, following consultation with the policing committee.
"I think that it's very timely, especially with the changes that were made just recently with photo enforcement," Moore said, referencing the province's changes to Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE), prohibiting photo radar on all provincial highways and connectors, limiting their use to school, playground, and construction zones, and making Intersection Safety Devices (ISDs) red-light enforcement only. The changes took effect April 1.
Moore said that the RCMP is taking steps to up their traffic enforcement.
"We are now utilizing an enhanced traffic initiative where that prioritizes visibility enforcement in high traffic areas as well as the school and playground zones," he said. "But also there's a number of warnings being given out that won't show on the stats."
Moore added that they prioritize their visibility enforcement in school zones during the morning, lunch, and afternoon times, and was hopeful to add playground zones to that as the weather gets nicer throughout the summer.
Q4 also saw 32 motor vehicle thefts. Moore said that the crime reduction unit worked with K Division Auto Theft to acquire a bait vehicle. Two individuals took control of the RCMP asset and were arrested, and one of the individuals was found to have 12 outstanding warrants.
Crime down
Overall, the report reveals that crime in St. Albert was down 15 per cent compared to Q4 in 2024, with 795 total criminal code violations in 2025 compared to 932 in 2024.
Assaults were down 58 per cent, total drug offences down 6 per cent. Thefts under $5000 saw an increase of 17 per cent compared to this time in 2024.
Other community priorities
The report also included updates on the detachment's other community priorities like crime reduction, their first priority.
"The crime reduction unit worked with local businesses to curb retail theft by completing shoplifting blitzes," the report said. Members assisted the Loss Prevention Officer by arresting four individuals for theft under $5000 and recovering hundreds of dollars in stolen property.
Their third priority is also domestic violence and assaults. The St. Albert RCMP is putting plans in place to hold an information and education session and a panel in relation to human trafficking. They also conducted a sting targeting those who obtained sexual services for consideration.
"Over the course of one evening, the RCMP arrested eight individuals for attempting to obtain sexual services for consideration and charges are pending against all individuals," Moore said.
Staffing
St. Albert's approved force sits at 75 established positions, with 63 currently working. There are seven positions on special leave and seven "hard vacancies" that are ready to be filled. Overall, staffing for the fiscal year to date cost the city $13.7 million. $10 million of that are listed as direct costs, which the detachment has control over. $5.2 million are indirect costs, which the detachment does not have control over. These may include employee benefits, recruiting operations, and cadet training.
