By rdnewsNOW staff

crime reduction

Alberta RCMP marks one-year anniversary of Project Lock Up

Feb 11, 2020 | 3:24 PM

Edmonton – On Monday, Alberta Rural Crime Watch, Alberta Citizens on Patrol and Alberta Crime Stoppers joined the Alberta RCMP in marking the first anniversary of Project Lock Up.

The initiative brings together Alberta Sheriffs, Alberta Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement, Alberta Peace Officers and Criminal Intelligence Services Alberta.

Project Lock Up, announced in February 2019, has created a framework enabling the RCMP and its enforcement and citizen-led partners to provide an enhanced response to repeat victims of property crime. This collaborative, intelligence-led initiative also aims to reduce property crime and build trust between citizens and law enforcement.

RCMP Crime Reduction Analysts review data from calls to police to identify the areas where break and enters occur most often. Law enforcement and citizen-led stakeholder groups then use gathered intelligence to guide patrols and enhance oversight in the areas hit hardest by break and enters.

As part of Project Lock Up, RCMP Community Engagement and Outreach Specialists meet with Alberta families and businesses who have been hit the hardest by property crime. RCMP employees listen to victims’ stories and work with them to ensure they are not targeted again by applying Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles.

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“I want Albertans to know that we are listening to their concerns – Project Lock Up has improved the way that we respond to victims, turning our focus to those repeatedly victimized by crime,” says Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki, Commanding Officer, Alberta RCMP. “With the help of our enforcement partners and citizen-led crime prevention groups, Project Lock Up has enabled us to better identify Albertans who need our support and provide them with real and concrete ways of making them safer in their homes and businesses.”

Project Lock Up is a key initiative of Alberta RCMP’s Crime Reduction Strategy which launched in 2017. It is an evidence-based approach based on a successful UK model which saw a 30% decrease in residential break and enters.

Thanks to Project Lock Up, Mounties say 24 properties that had been categorized as hardest hit by crime have not been targeted by criminals again.

From 2017 to 2019, the number of break and enters has decreased by 4.3% in Alberta RCMP rural jurisdictions.