Everybody knows somebody that’s been affected by crime, 
whether it be family members or themselves
and feel powerless and don’t know where to turn.
Something that they can do is look into their local 
Rural Crime Watch and get involved.
The criminal element has moved out of the city and out of the suburbs
and is now moving through the rural areas.
As these criminal elements move into the rural area, they’re moving there
specifically because they know they’re going to find soft targets.
They’re going to find vehicles that are left with the keys in the ignition,
or in the visor, or in the cupholder.  They’re going to know that there’s a
firearm somewhere on the property.  The good natured folk of the country
having not locked anything for years, are now becoming victims of this crime type
and these roving criminals that are moving through the rural area.
We had some people break into our trailer over the summer
in the middle of the night, and they basically ransacked our trailer and
took what they wanted.  My husband was heading to work and he noticed
the trailer door, and he said “did you go in the trailer last night?”
and and I said “nope, I didn’t”.  So then he came in and looked around and
all the cupboards were open, the bed was lifted and there was stuff just thrown all about.
As a general rule our property is locked up tight.  Our shop, our house, our vehicles.
We are very, very careful of that, and we just figured there’s nothing of value
in our trailer, so we were leaving it open and we were going in and out quite frequently
emptying it for the year, and they actually just walked right in and took what they wanted
And left.  The stuff that they took from us was minor.  That type of stuff is easily
replaceable, but what they left us with was a feeling of, we feel like we were violated
and it’s a feeling you shouldn’t have to deal with.  Your home is supposed to be your safe place.
Rural Crime Watch is a key partnership that the RCMP has, and it’s one of the citizen-led
groups that we work very closely with.  It’s important to policing over all because
it gives us insight into a community and lets us know the things that are out of place
for that community, and that information is important to the police in understanding
where suspicious activity is occurring, the times that it’s occurring within,
so that helps us be effective with the resources that we have.
We live in a large province.  We have lots of back roads.  We have lots of secondary highways.
The Rural Crime Watches work with local police service to give notification of suspicious things.
Abandoned cars, gates that are open, anomalies, because the community members in
the rural areas know their community.  They know who should be in it, they know who shouldn’t be,
Because they live in those places, and of course they want the best for their community.
Over the decades Rural Crime Watch has proven its worth.  It’s not just the cattle rustlers and
The people that are stealing grain and damaging crops.  It’s more sophisticated crime out there now.
Those roving crime groups are now coming through the community and stealing anything
That isn’t nailed or bolted down.  The Rural Crime Watch program is definitely an
observe and report type of program, but the key piece of reporting is to ensure that it is reported,
And the fact that it’s reported timely.  Our dispatch centres are open 24 hours a day.
If there’s something going on, even in the wee hours of the morning, that should be reported
to the police at the time it’s occurring.  That small bit of information and the time and place
in which it is occurring could very well be the key piece of evidence that we need
in which to bring a long string of criminal offences to a successful conclusion.
I think rural Alberta could get back to where it was.  
The sense of community and people looking out for each other and helping each other out.
It’s going to take everybody to come together, not just the RCMP or the Rural Crime Watch.
It could be the bus driver, your county grader, the oil and gas industry.
Everybody can have a hand in it, and working together can achieve a safer community.
