Alberta RCMP and provincial policing partners track down the province’s top offenders
As part of a new RCMP-led data sharing initiative, the Alberta RCMP, Edmonton Police Services, and Alberta Sheriffs worked together in a Joint Forces Operation (JFO) targeting the top 10,000 offenders in the province through a warrant roundup.
The decisions to implement the initiative came following the recognition by the Alberta RCMP that all law enforcement agencies in Alberta were ranking priority offenders in different ways. Understanding that criminals operate in various jurisdictions, it was determined that a province wide-model to identify and prioritize offenders was required.
Through the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police, all police forces in Alberta have entered into an information sharing agreement that will allow for intelligence and statistical data to be routinely shared. This sharing enables police agencies in Alberta to have a true understanding of the priority offenders that are causing the most harm, not only within individual policing jurisdictions, but across the province. This shared data allows police agencies to properly prioritize and take enforcement action on the most harmful offenders, ensuring the safety of all Albertans.
The Alberta RCMP ranked the 85,000 unique offenders in Alberta based on the harm they cause in individual communities. To determine the harm caused by these individuals, the Alberta RCMP Strategic Analysis and Research Unit developed a matrix to determine which offenders were causing the most harm in Alberta. This determination is done using the uniform Crime Severity Index scoring that is typically applied to communities and applying it to individual’s offenders.
The Alberta RCMP, with the assistance of the Edmonton Police Service Business Analytics, Intelligence & Reporting section, and policing partners across the province, we are now able to collect, translate, and disseminate the offender data of all police agencies in the province to form a clear province-wide priority offender list.
From October 8 to October 18, 2024, 999 unique offenders were arrested resulting in the execution of 1,072, Alberta RCMP warrants.
In Edmonton and the surrounding area, where the JFO was focused, law enforcement agencies were able to executed 250 warrants arresting 108 individuals, 4 of whom were from the top 100 offenders in Alberta. Over the past 18 months the crimes committed by these 108 individuals were equivalent to all crime committed in 2023 to several communities with over 20,000 people.
The individuals arrested during the JFO had warrants from all types of crime: ranging from repeat petty thefts, to arsons, drug trafficking, robbery, sex offences and attempted murder.
One suspect who was arrested was ranked 852 based on his CSI score and was linked to crimes in 7 different RCMP jurisdictions as well as in Edmonton. When analyzing this person’s crimes in each individual jurisdiction, he wouldn’t have been at the top of any single detachment’s list; however, by combining the data from across Alberta, the real impact this individual was having on Albertans was revealed.
Using this shared information also allows the RCMP and their partners to intervene and help people who are stuck in a cycle of criminality. During the round up, one offender ranked 57, was arrested for a variety of crimes including possession of stolen property and property crime offences. This offender was only 18 years old, and agreed to join the Alberta RCMP’s Integrated Offender Management program which helps connect offenders with resources in their community and help them deal with overarching issues that can contribute to criminality like addiction, mental health and poverty.
The JFO that took place in October was one of two planned operations. In the coming weeks, the Alberta RCMP and Alberta Sheriffs will be partnering with Calgary Police Service to launch a similar operation in Calgary and the surrounding area.
“Criminals don’t care about borders; they operate across jurisdictions harming communities across Alberta,” said Supt. Mike McCauley of the Alberta RCMP. “The success of the Joint Force Operation, is just the first step. Going forward we will continue to use a data driven approach and work with our law enforcement partners to stop the people who are causing the most harm to all Albertans.”
“Collaboration between law enforcement agencies is key to keeping our communities safe,” said Supt. Mike Letourneau of the Alberta Sheriffs. “By sharing critical data and working together to identify and address priority offenders, this initiative will help protect Albertans and ensure those who pose the greatest threat are brought to justice.”
“After the successful arrests of nearly 1,000 individuals, including four of Alberta’s top 100 offenders, this Joint Forces Operation has proven that collecting, translating and sharing offender data with our law enforcement partners proves to be an effective way to apprehend some of the province’s most notorious offenders,” said Supt. Keith Johnson of the Edmonton Police Service’s Crime Suppression and Community Operations Division. “Our commitment to this approach will help to keep some of our most serious offenders from committing crime in our local communities and across the province.”
Quick Facts
A total of 2,259 charges stemming from the arrest of 999 unique offenders:
134 (13%) of the warrants executed involved an assault charge (not a sexual assault) as the most serious offence;
690 (64%) of the warrants were related to a Criminal Code offence;
321 (30%) of the warrants were related to a Traffic Safety Act offence;
45 offenders had 2 warrants each (a total of 226 charges between the 90 warrants);
9 offenders had 3 warrants each (with a total of 76 charges between the 27 warrants);
21 (2%) of the warrants executed involved a sexual assault as the most serious offence;
3 arrests involved violent firearm offence related warrants; and
The remaining 943 offenders had 1 warrant each accounting for a total of 1,920 charges (95% of offenders arrested had 1 warrant).
Offenders of Note:
One property crime offender had a total of 6 warrants with 26 charges;
Another property crime offender had 6 warrants with 14 charges (including an assault police officer with weapon); and
8 were related to a CBSA offences.