Each year the Cranbrook RCMP sets policing priorities to work on during the year and the detachment is proud of the work done in 2025.
One of the priorities was traffic enforcement and higher police visibility.
“Some of the highlights include 129 roadside prohibitions issued with vehicles impounded, 618 proactive patrols were conducted in identified hot spots around the community, 115 curfew checks conducted and 116 joint patrols with the bylaw department,” said Sgt. Stu Hert.
Another priority was improving relations with local First Nations.
“We have a three-person indigenous policing section that leads that initiative,” Hert added.
“They are very engaged with the community and the leadership out there, the youth out there. They are frequently engaging in community events.”
Hert said they are most proud of their work in improving public trust of police.
“I’m particularly proud of our efforts in this area over the past year. We’ve realized some very significant success,” he said.
“The bulk of the credit goes to our community engagement coordinator working in partnership with our community policing member. We attended numerous community events, including the polar plunge, children’s day, playing sports with our special-Olympians, Rememberance Day and guest lectures to the law program at the College of the Rockies.”
It wasn’t all great news though as Hert said they weren’t able to have much success in their priority of increasing the use of restorative justice.
“Restorative justice we had a disappointing result in. We had a number of pressures throughout the year that made it difficult to get off the ground. Late in the year we met with the board and current coordinator from the program and invited them to speak to all our supervisors and just as it felt like we were getting some traction the funding fell out and the program is currently unfunded,” he said.
“We are in the early stages of examining the opportunity to potentially bring restorative justice in-house so it would be administered through the detachment.”
We will have more on on what the detachment ahs planned for 2026.
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