NOVEMBER 27, 2019
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Town Hall Meeting on Crime Arthur Beaudette The Vegreville News Advertiser On Tue s d ay November 19, 2019, the Vegreville RCMP hosted an open house at the Vegreville Social Centre to report to the community on the status of policing in the communities our police force is responsible for. The audience was addressed by Terry Hyggen, the Detachment Commander of the Vegreville RCMP. Other members of the detachment were on hand as were CPO Ken Podoborozny and Fish and Wildlife Officer Mike Hewitt. Staf f Sergeant Hyggen started off by expressing to the small gathering that he understood the concerns and frustrations people had for their families and property. He added that he and his members shared those concerns and frustrations and wanted to find solutions to these problems together.
2 categories (persons offenses and other criminal offences), Vegreville ranked above the provincial averages. For the category of property offenses the ranking was 5% below that of Alberta. In other metrics, the Vegreville detachment was on par or performing better than average, sometimes by a wide margin. One of the most unsettling stats shared was that of the “Police to Population” ratio. This is the measure of the number of members compared to the population they serve. This was broken down into “municipal” or resources paid for by the Town of Vegreville and “provincial” or those resources paid for by the province. For the Town of Vegreville, the ratio is 687 people to every officer (K Div
Hyggen provided some of his background both in his personal life, growing up in
down 24%. At the same time Property Offences (break & enter, thefts, mischief) were up 26%.
Saskatchewan, and in law enforcement where he worked in drug (general investigations) and homicide units. Those in attendance were provided with lots of stats to consider for t he Veg rev i l le Detachment from 2013 – 2018. Persons Offences (assault, robbery, threats, etc.) were
Other Criminal Offenses (weapons possession, disturbing the peace, failing to comply) were up 8.5%. The performance of the detachment was also articulated to the crowd with the stat for “Clearance Rates”. TOWN HALL - CONTINUED ON PAGE 17 These are the rates at which files are closed by the detachment. In
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