RCMP, Sheriffs, EPS Execute Top Offender Warrant Roundup

The Alberta RCMP, Alberta Sheriffs and Edmonton Police Service (EPS) teamed up from April 20 through 24 for a Joint Forces Operation which targeted the arrest of many of the province's high priority offenders with active warrants.

The RCMP uses a matrix that uses the Crime Severity Index to rank them based on overall harm caused to their respective communities. All police forces in the province share their crime data with the RCMP which then provides a clear province-wide priority offender list.

The operation between the three forces saw 88 offenders with active warrants arrested. The charges laid against them ranges from possession of stolen property to aggravated assault to extortion with a firearm. Overall, the harm caused by these offenders was roughly equivalent to the same total amount of harm caused by all the crime in a mid-sized community (such as Devon or Morinville) over the course of a year and a half.

'Significant harm in our communities is often driven by a small number of priority offenders,' says Superintendent Mike McCauley, Alberta RCMP Crime Reduction Strategy. 'By working with our policing partners to identify and prioritize these individuals, we can take coordinated, province-wide action to hold them accountable and work towards our shared goal of a stronger, safer Alberta.'

In addition to the weeklong burst, each agency supported a province-wide emphasis on priority offenders between April 7 and May 4. During this time, a total of 2,528 warrants were executed, representing 11 per cent of all warrants held by the three agencies.