RCMP Crest
FORT MCMURRAY — Crime is trending downward across Alberta in 2026, with the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo recording some of the sharpest declines in major property crime categories.
According to Alberta RCMP reporting covering January through August, total Criminal Code offences in RCMP jurisdictions are down six per cent compared with the same period in 2025.
Crimes against persons are down two per cent, while other Criminal Code offences have fallen four per cent.
Property crime is helping drive much of the provincial decline, with categories including auto theft and break-and-enters continuing to trend lower.
The downward movement is even more pronounced in Wood Buffalo.
Municipal five-year crime statistics show break-and-enters were down 38.2 per cent year-to-date as of July, falling from 131 occurrences during the same period in 2025 to 81 this year.
Theft of motor vehicles was down 28.8 per cent, dropping from 125 occurrences to 89.
Theft under $5,000 also fell by nearly 30 per cent earlier in the year, reducing one of the higher-volume categories handled by local police.
By mid-year, the Wood Buffalo Municipal RCMP division had recorded 408 fewer total Criminal Code offences than during the comparable period in 2025.
Crimes against persons have been comparatively stable, with only slight fluctuations depending on the reporting month.
The 2026 numbers continue a broader downward trend identified in Statistics Canada data released in August.
Wood Buffalo’s Crime Severity Index fell 16.5 per cent over the previous reporting year, a decrease that outpaced the provincial RCMP average.
Wood Buffalo RCMP has attributed the decline in part to intelligence-led policing focused on repeat offenders, along with enhanced downtown foot patrols and proactive enforcement.
While the crime picture is improving, one major public-safety measure is moving sharply in the opposite direction.
Alberta RCMP says traffic fatalities have increased significantly this year.
As of Aug. 31, 192 people had died in traffic collisions in Alberta RCMP jurisdictions, compared with 144 during the same period in 2025.
RCMP warned Sept. 27 that, if the trend continues, 2026 could become the deadliest year on Alberta roads in RCMP jurisdictions since 2015.
Comments