Crime has increased in Red Deer in the first quarter of 2019, and residents are concerned about it.
Criminal code offences saw an increase of 20 per cent, while property crime rose 26 per cent.
"We had a significant increase in the first quarter," Red Deer RCMP Superintendent Gerald Grobmeier said. "We did not have that same increase for quarter two; it actually slowed down quite a bit. In June we actually saw a reduction in break and enters and theft from motor vehicles to extremely low numbers."
In a survey released at council Monday, 50 per cent of respondents mentioned crime as a concern, compared to 22 per cent in 2015.
The community's satisfaction with police has decreased, going from 82 per cent in 2018 to 79 per cent in 2019—the lowest it has been since the survey was created in 2006.
Grobmeier called the results "disappointing."
“I take it very seriously. Any agency, any business doesn’t want to see their satisfaction rate go down,” he said.
There was also a drop off in satisfaction with city council and administration, from 86 to 79 per cent.
“It’s pretty clear, it’s pretty obvious, [the decrease] is reflective of the struggles with economic downturn,” Councillor Vesna Higham said. Higham also mentioned polarizing issues such as overdose prevention sites and council compensation.
However, 93 per cent of locals rated living in Red Deer as good or very good.
The survey was conducted over the phone by Ipsos between May 13 and 24 and it cost the city approximately $22, 000.
