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Citizens' Crime Concerns

Citizens voice crime concerns at several local town halls

Oct 26, 2022 | 2:00 PM

For the second time in a week, residents of Ward 7 met with their councillor and members of the Prince Albert Police service for a town hall meeting on Sunday, October 23. For the second meeting in a row, crime was the biggest concern on the agenda.

About 30 people attended the second town hall meeting at the East Hill Community Club. Mirroring other recent community meetings, the big concern from residents is the seeming rise in violent crimes.

“They wanted to know more about bylaw and how that works, reporting houses that are boarded up,” Ward 7 Coun. Dawn Kilmer said. “Those were the main topics, and some people were very concerned over the recent police release about cars, people coming and taking their cars.”

One especially concerned resident asked the police for some advice on how to protect his car or property in general. Recently, police have been dealing with four separate incidents of armed robberies where the thieves stole cars.

“They work hard for the things they have,” Kilmer said. “There is just a general feeling of hey, this is increasing, people are coming in and taking the things I work hard for. So what can we do to help?”

The recent rash of violent robberies has been a hot-button issue in Prince Albert, but so have other property crimes. At the previous meeting on Oct. 19, residents talked about home security cameras catching more trespassers.

“I noticed that there was more and more posting about, this person is in our yard, and this happened, and this happened,” Kilmer said following the first meeting. “They’re very concerned about the increase in crime in their area, people being in their yard, things being taken from their yard and cameras picking it up.”

At both meetings, however, Kilmer acknowledged solutions were hard to come by. She said the issues behind the crimes are societal, and there are limits to what one person can do about it. She said the solution would have to come from all levels of government, including city council. She also said residents were advised to be aware and report anything suspicious.

Meanwhile, at another meeting on Monday, October 24 held by the Prince Albert Business and Residents Advocacy Group (BRAG), crime and policing were once again on the agenda. The conversation at this meeting evolved into a desire for a petition to investigate city spending. A full look at this meeting can be found here.

rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP

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