Staff Sgt. Adare Guest hopes Wednesday’s town hall meeting encourages victims of crime to call them for help.

“If you are a victim or believe you're in a position where you’re going to be victimized, please take steps to address it. Call the police. You’re not alone and we’re here to help.”

Those calls are useful for police even if an officer doesn’t end up attending the scene, or the culprit is long gone, he told Bolt FM.

“In a lot of ways when incidents are reported to us it allows us to track activity of certain types of crime that are occuring in different areas, and it allows us to target some of our enforcement and investigation efforts.”

Resourcing for detachments is based on the call volume they recieve, he said.

Close to 100 people attended the two-and-a-half hour meeting at the Uniplex, where Guest and Staff Sgt. Greg Abbott of Saskatoon described police efforts to fight crime.

They also answered questions, which ranged from a property owner’s self-defence rights to complaints about police investigations. They also explained staffing levels how they prioritize calls.

Homeowners have the right to defend themselves in life-threatening situations, but RCMP advise people to avoid confrontation and call the police.

Guest supports the idea of local crime watch or citizen patrol programs. None exist in the area, but some rural municipalities and towns in the area have expressed interest, he said.

“I know it’s a cliche, we do hear it a lot, but honestly it makes our job so much easier if there are people out there who are reporting things that are out of the ordinary, are seeing people that shouldn't be in places that they are, and it really, really helps us to identify trends.”

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Humboldt/Lanigan RCMP Staff Sgt. Adare Guest

One of the people at the meeting was Moose Jaw area grain farmer Nick Cornea, founder of the Facebook group Farmers Against Rural Crime, which now has more than 9,700 members.

The Humboldt meeting was the first of the RCMP town halls across the province he’s been able to attend, he said.

“I want to show support to the communities. I’m trying to get the name out there some more. Lots of people joining our group and joining our cause to change these policies and lobby the government to get rid of this rural crime.”

He was pleased with the responses from Guest and Abbott, he said.

“There's a few things that were left in grey areas because every situation is different, but I think the RCMP are doing a fine job at informing us of what they are doing. They’re not just sitting behind bushes as portrayed on Corner Gas and trying to give us tickets,” Cornea said.

Carmel resident Murray Freistadt said he has experienced petty trespassing, but has never had any property stolen. He has reported people breaking into other people’s houses, he said.

People at the meeting were concerned about property crime, their own rights and offenders being released back into the public, he said.

The meeting also made clear that there’s no easy fix to property crime, he said.