Wetaskiwin residents weigh in on rising crime at RCMP town hall

Wetaskiwin residents are speaking up about what they call "social disorder" in their community.

Nearly 500 people meet with RCMP at a town hall at the Wetaskiwin Memorial Arts Centre on Thursday.

"To me that speaks to the level of commitment that our community members have in addressing community concerns," said Insp. John Spanns of the Wetaskiwin Camrose RCMP. "Clearly, people here want to be a part of the solution."

The meeting was organized due to growing worry surrounding drugs and crime in the city.

According to the Canada Crime Severity Index, violent crime in the city jumped by 41 per cent last year while non-violent crime was up 10 per cent.

One local business owner at the meeting said disorder downtown is getting progressively worse.

"Some of our employees are scared. We’ve moved our lobby hours. We now close at nine o’clock at night. We’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on video surveillance. The police even come to us for video when things happen in the area," she added.

Spanns fielded questions from attendees. In feedback from the community, drugs, crime and homelessness were all heavily discussed.

Many people brought up Wetaskiwin's Hope Mission, and complained about the actions of some of its clientele.

CTV News Edmonton reached out to the Hope Mission, but no one was available Sunday for an interview.

Spanns told residents at the meeting that RCMP were designing activities in Wetaskiwin to address the issues raised, but solving complex problems will take collaboration.

"It’s important for us to have the public understand that often these issues aren’t a policing centric issue and that it takes a community to solve these issues and concerns,” Spanns said.

Rick Wilson, the region's MLA, attended the meeting. He said the UCP's plan is to be compassionate but tough on crime.

"You’re going to see some legislation coming forward this fall, some people are going to like it, and others won’t," Wilson said. If people are doing harm to themselves or others we can actually take them to get help."