ENFIELD: Dangerous driving continues to be a problem area for local police officers, according to the report presented by East Hants RCMP during the Executive committee meeting of the Municipality of East Hants council on May 19.
The final quarterly report for the fiscal year 2020 ran from Jan. 1 to March 31.
It was presented during the livestreamed council session to councillors from East Hants by S/Sgt. Steve Ettinger.
“It’s vitally important to RCMP East Hants, that you feel we address any concerns, issues and complaints impacting our residents and keep in touch and genuinely involved in our community,” he said in the report. “For the Municipality of East Hants, we continue to target: Crime Prevention and Reduction, to ensure safety and security of all our residents.
“Road Safety with extra patrols, and checkpoints: and Cyber Crime, constantly education and updating our officer’s education and knowledge with regard to rapidly growing technology.”
Additionally, RCMP members have started and continue to do COVID-19 related park checks twice daily teaming up with Parks and Recreation staff from MEH.
S/Sgt. Ettinger said that during this quarter East Hants RCMP responded to a multitude of police reports for highway safety and continue to be proactive in the communities by continuing police checkpoints to ensure safer roads.
“Our officers responded to 42 calls of dangerous driving complaints on our highways and investigated several possible impaired drivers,” he said. “They resulted in a number of criminal charges for impaired operation of a motor vehicle by alcohol/drugs.”
Police members are actively trying to reduce crimes against persons such as assault; robbery; threats; to name a few and property-related crimes, which can include break-and-enters, thefts; and damage to property.
East Hants RCMP investigated 38 reported crimes against persons and five crimes against property during the three months to start 2020.
“These stats are captured at a particular moment in time and can change frequently,” S/Sgt. Ettinger said in his report to council.
Where scamming activities are still so prevalent, the RCMP continue to speak with seniors in East Hants to ensure they understand the impact of Frauds and Scams.
Police also made 21 requests for “Well Being” checks on members in our community.
“What we would consider a “well being” check include missing person, someone who is or could be experiencing a Mental Health or Medical Health condition/crisis or someone who lives alone and has not been heard from in an unusual amount of time,” he said. “Police response to these types of calls not only ensure individual safety, but also that no criminal activity has been involved.”
Cyber crime remains a provincial priority for the RCMP, said S/Sgt. Ettinger.
“We continue to work closely with our Tech Crime Unit and utilize their expertise as often as possible. It’s an ever-evolving technical society and East Hants officers stay current regarding Tech Crime and trends,” he said.
Schools and public presentations continue to be a focus to educate our public and help protect them from cybercrime. During this reporting period, East Hants District responded to nine occurrences of cyber crimes or Fraud, but no charges had to be laid.
It has been a rough final quarter for the police force with the shooting rampage that began in Portapique and came to an end in Enfield on April 18-19. It saw the gunman shoot and kill Const. Heidi Stevenson in Shubenacadie. Const. Chad Morrison was shot and injured just prior to that.
“This final quarter has been filled with devastating tragedy, amazing tributes, and instilling trust with our community,” said S/Sgt. Steve Ettinger in the report. “We’ve received an inconceivable amount of support, guidance, gratitude and been well cared for ourselves by you, our rocks in the community, and for that, we will be forever grateful.
“Thank you for including East Hants RCMP in your prayers and allowing us to be a part of your families, all while dealing with Covid19.”
