Persons crimes sharply rise across Leduc RCMP jurisdiction

LEDUC -- Persons crimes across the Leduc RCMP jurisdiction saw a steep increase through the first six months of the year. 

This is according to the latest crime statistics released by the detachment, which show that persons crimes rose by 30 per cent from January through June when compared to the same period last year. Kiel Samotej, Detachment Commander with the Leduc RCMP, says the increase has been driven by several categories, including assault and uttering threats.

"We've seen an increase in regards to uttering threats, assaults, and frauds," said Insp. Samotej. "Those are very tough to combat. When we look at uttering threats and assaults, those are very in-the-moment-type crimes, making it very tough to get ahead in terms of pro-activeness for preventing those." 

For the second quarter of 2026, the detachment responded to 33 assaults across its jurisdiction. This marked a five-year high for the region. Meantime, Samotej says that for the vast majority of fraud incidents, many of the perpetrators are individuals located outside of the country. He adds that the Leduc RCMP detachment's answer to these types of crimes is to host information sessions for seniors in hopes of boosting education.

Another area of concern has been traffic safety, as Leduc RCMP have boosted patrols on roads over the past several months in hopes of cracking down on dangerous driving and impairment. Samotej says that from April through June, 545 traffic violation tickets were handed out along with 19 immediate roadside sanctions. 

"It's been a horrific year on the highways in regard to fatalities," said Insp. Samotej. "It's a challenge. Is it education, is it safety, is it safety engineering. What more can be done -- that's the million-dollar question. But I can assure you that our commitment is to be out there." 

Despite the rise in persons crimes, the Leduc RCMP detachment saw a 3 per cent decrease in overall criminal code violations during the first six months of the year. This was mostly driven by a decrease in property crimes such as break-and-enters and theft of motor vehicles.