RCMP charge Okotoks homeowner after shots fired

[MikePal]

further meetings on the topic;

United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney said that’s a large part of the problem with rural crime – that offenders are released or lost in the system.

“One solution it seems is to clear up the back log in the court system, which may require more judges and prosecutors,” said Kenney.

It’s also time to create a greater police presence in rural Alberta, he said. Current response times can sometimes be over an hour in the country.

He said the UCP’s task force, created jointly with the federal Conservatives, is consulting with victims of crime, prosecutors, police and other stakeholders to find solutions to the problem.

Rural property crime in Alberta has at least doubled over the past two or three years and it needs to stop, he said. It’s becoming more dangerous, as residents become fed up and fearful – just recently homeowner Edouard Maurice is charged after RCMP received reports of shots fired at a rural property on Feb. 24. He allegedly encountered two individuals rummaging through his vehicles, and in the ensuing confrontation, a firearm was discharged an unknown amount of times.

Kenney said the first duty of government is public safety, and the provincial and federal governments must both do everything possible to provide timely police protection to people who are victims of crime and reduce rural crime rates.

“Property thefts are becoming break-and-entries, which are becoming home invasions, which are becoming increasingly violent,” he said. “And now, people are starting to take the law into their own hands.”

http://www.westernwheel.com/article/...-mind-20180307

[MikePal]

Nicely put....

Edouard Maurice of Okotoks, Alta., is alleged to have shot a man in the arm. Mr. Maurice maintains the man was rummaging through vehicles on his property in the early-morning hours one day last month. Mr. Maurice has been charged with aggravated assault, pointing a firearm and careless use of a firearm. He was scheduled to appear in court Friday. Many of his rural neighbours believe he shouldn’t have been charged at all.

Dismissing that viewpoint as the typical attitude of hicks and rednecks would be easy – and unfair. While there are certainly farmers who believe they should be able to shoot people who are unlawfully on their land with menacing intent, many don’t. They understand that if they pull a gun on a robber, that robber might have a bigger gun. There is no possession worth losing a life over: No one should be killed for trespassing, and no material object is worth a homeowner getting killed himself.

That said, most of us can’t comprehend the fear with which many ranchers and others abiding outside our urban centres now live. Property and violent crime is up in some rural areas in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Where I live, I can have the police to my house in two minutes if I hear someone outside. I can’t imagine what it would be like knowing they wouldn’t make it for a half-hour or more.

Farmers and ranchers have always possessed an independent streak. That instinct to protect what is theirs is deeply ingrained. The notion that they are supposed to sit back and watch someone steal their truck or walk away with some expensive piece of farm equipment, rather than challenging the person, is anathema to their very existence.

This issue is not going away any time soon. There are likely to be more confrontations that test the will of those living in the country, people who are unquestionably more vulnerable than the rest of us. They feel abandoned, looked upon as the bad guy in this story.

What they want is some understanding and some help.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opin...ce-to-alberta/

[rick_iles]

The big difference here is he actually shot the guy. I can’t see this going very well for him.

[welsh]

The big difference here is he actually shot the guy. I can’t see this going very well for him.

This is basically the whole point that people are energetically missing.

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[Bushmoose]

The big difference here is he actually shot the guy. I can’t see this going very well for him.

Let's hope he kept his mouth shut when dealing with police? Hopefully his legal team get it sorted out for him?

[terrym]

The problem here is that to "not" engage criminals means they will get bolder and there will be an increase in crimes if they know nothing will happen. No point in locking your vehicles and home almost. Police aren't and never will be a deterrent. They only show up to produce a report for insurance purposes well after the fact. Not a slur on police it's just reality.
Having said that gunning down a person to prevent them from going through the cab of your P/U isn't the solution. Maybe these rural dwellers need to get some attack pit bulls. Beware of dog signs might actually work?

[fishermccann]

You can be arrested for crimes committed on camera. Game cams around your property , only need to be fed batteries. Are alarms and surveillance cameras only for urban areas, most in our area of suburbia have one or the other. Sad but true, but if city dwellers find them necessary, why not rural folk? The question would be.... do you want someone stealing your stuff arrested, even if it is after the fact, or do you want them dead?

[welsh]

The problem with cameras is the cops can't find someone based on a fuzzy frame grab.

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[fishermccann]

Even the cheap 100 buck game cams take better images than your old Kodak did 20 years ago. If you can recognize individual deer, I think you could identify people. Most have video!

[rick_iles]

Even the cheap 100 buck game cams take better images than your old Kodak did 20 years ago. If you can recognize individual deer, I think you could identify people. Most have video!

Not with a hoody over your head....most around here have learned how to circumvent a camera.