EDMONTON — The Alberta RCMP says its crime reduction strategy is contributing to a decline in property crime across areas policed by the force.
In a release, Alberta RCMP said the strategy uses data and intelligence to target offenders causing the most harm in communities through a focus on suppression, apprehension, offender management and targeted enforcement.
The force said its Strategic Analysis and Research Unit ranks tens of thousands of offenders using a matrix based on the Crime Severity Index, a measure used by Statistics Canada to assess the seriousness of crime in communities.
Alberta RCMP said the system identifies individuals responsible for the greatest harm and allows police to focus enforcement efforts on priority offenders.
Mounties said the Community Response Team, a specialized unit deployed across the province, focused on illicit drug enforcement in 2025.
According to the Alberta RCMP, the unit seized about $897,000 worth of drugs last year along with 37 firearms, leading to 123 firearm-related charges.
Police said the team also executed 152 arrest warrants and targeted 88 of the province’s top 100 priority offenders.
The Alberta RCMP said another component of the strategy is its bait vehicle program, which places GPS-monitored vehicles in areas considered high risk for auto theft.
The force said bait vehicles were deployed 29 times in 2025, leading to 22 arrests for criminal offences and traffic violations. Nineteen of those arrested were identified as priority offenders.
According to Alberta RCMP, detachments using the bait equipment have seen an average 33 per cent reduction in vehicle theft following successful deployments.
The Alberta RCMP said the program is supported by Canadian property and casualty insurers, the Équité Association and the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
Mounties said officers arrested individuals ranked among the top 500 priority offenders a total of 2,073 times in 2025.
Police said those arrests involved 467 individuals responsible for about eight per cent of the total harm caused by crime in areas policed by the Alberta RCMP.
According to the force, selected property crimes including auto theft, break-ins, theft and possession of stolen property are now at a 10-year low in Alberta RCMP jurisdiction.
Police said those crimes dropped 13 per cent compared with 2024 and 32 per cent compared with 2016, with further decreases recorded so far in 2026.
“The Alberta RCMP’s Crime Reduction Strategy tackles a very complex issue with a simple solution,” Supt. Michael McCauley, officer in charge of the strategy, said in the release.
“By targeting the offenders that are causing the most harm to Albertans, while also focusing on the locations that are the most vulnerable.”
Sid Kingma, director for Western Canada with the Équité Association, said auto theft continues to be a major issue across the country.
“Auto theft remains a national issue that has become a significant funding source for organized crime groups,” Kingma said in the release.
“Équité continues to collaborate with law enforcement on this critical public safety issue to protect communities.”
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