Small rural communities throughout Central Alberta are certainly making the news this summer. Headlines like “Rocky Tops Crime Rate” and “Let’s Put a Stop to all the Trouble in Stettler.” According to Statistics Canada, Rocky Mountain House reported the highest crime rate among eight Central Alberta communities last year. The community of Stettler followed, with 16,863 criminal code incidents per 100,000 population. A Stettler resident submitted a letter to a local newspaper stating that the community has lost too many loved ones and that Stettlerites need to band together and help the RCMP do their jobs more efficiently.  ”I plead for your help to make Stettler a safer place“, the resident writes.

Feeling extremely compelled to offer some support to the Stettlerite I found myself commenting on the newspapers blog, here is what I wrote:

” Your concerns are being voiced in many communities throughout our province. Trust me when I say, you are not alone. There are certainly solutions but they are not overnight remedies, they do take time and a commitment from the community. You may actually hold the key by being the catalyst for change or as some people like to refer to them, an Agent of Change.

The Police are doing their part and the government is doing theirs.  However, we are often critical of both and I attribute this negativity to our frustration with the crime we see in our communities. Make no mistake, they are challenged, just as we are by issues such as funding and capacity. They need people like you and I to step forward and be a support. We are only limited by our own creativity when it comes to community-based crime prevention.

The more each of us play a role, the less crime there will be in our communities. We must take ownership and be good stewards of crime prevention. Carefully consider new alternatives or best practices such as Crime Prevention through Environmental Design. Be an advocate for change and suggest utilizing some of these techniques as we have done in Red Deer. The challenge for everyone is to build a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another, because the question is not how well we work alone, but how well we work together.”

Let’s not be complacent, keep the river flowing no matter what!  For those afraid of change and who often follow the path of least resistance, consider this quote by John Welwood: “The most powerful agent of growth and transformation is something much more basic than any technique: a change of heart.”

Filed under Community Crime Prevention, Crime Prevention through Environmental Design, Education & Awareness, News