Police talk property defence at rural Q&A

DELEAU — Rural residents expressed frustration with Canada’s justice system on Friday during an RCMP town hall discussing property crime.

“I think you should have the right to protect your property,” said Dennis Black, one of about 20 Westman residents who attended the two-hour Q&A session at the Deleau General Store hosted by two Virden RCMP members.

Black said Canadian laws need to be strengthened in favour of citizens.

“It’s our justice system that needs to be relooked at and revamped,” he said.

Scott Phillips, the RM of Sifton councillor who organized the event, said it was expedited because of the recent case in the RM of Dufferin where a 66-year-old man is facing charges after he allegedly fired shots toward a vehicle used by a group of people accused of stealing from his property.

Phillips said that it’s a “tough pill to swallow” that thieves should be left alone, adding that the meeting was organized to advise people of their legal “do’s and dont’s, cans and cannots” following the Dufferin incident.

Staff Sgt. Scott McCauley, who hosted the town hall alongside Cpl. Carrie LeComte, said citizens should keep valuables out of sight and make their properties unattractive for thieves — using things like locks, lights and cameras.

He emphasized that residents should not engage with criminals if they’re caught in the act.

When questioned about a citizen’s rights to defend their property, he stressed that Canadian law revolves around the circumstances of the defence.

“The key element and phrase is ‘reasonable,’” McCauley said. “What’s reasonable to defend your property?”

As an example, McCauley said if a person was caught stealing scrap metal on private property, hitting them over the head with a baseball bat would be unreasonable.

Some of the residents at the meeting did not seem to agree.

“Can we take a vote on that?” Phillips said, sparking laughter from people in attendance.

When hearing that they would be in trouble with the law for “escalating” a property crime to a violent crime by confronting a thief physically, a number of residents expressed frustration to the RCMP officers.

“The law’s not right because it’s protecting the criminals,” said one woman.

Colleen Robbins, the Progressive Conservative MLA for Spruce Woods, said she participated in the event because the charges laid in the RM of Dufferin case have irked a number of her constituents.

“I am getting inundated with emails with this last thing where the farmer got arrested,” Robbins said. “I just wanted to come out.”

Robbins said she supports changes the PC party is advocating to make it easier for Manitobans to protect themselves and their families in their homes.

She added that the legal system needs to empower citizens who are being victimized by criminals.

“I think tougher laws,” she said. “We need tougher laws because right now, the law does more favours for the criminal than the victim.”

McCauley stressed several times that he owns a farm and understands residents’ frustrations.

He noted that he has installed a number of lights and locks on his properties and said he “couldn’t stress it enough” that bright yard lights are a deterrent.

McCauley also stressed that residents ought to call in tips and reports freely — because officers piece together a puzzle using a variety of sources that can ultimately solve a crime.

The problem of slow response times in rural Westman popped up several times in discussion.

RM of Pipestone Reeve Randy Henuset told the Sun it’s a problem that RCMP are less ingrained and visible in communities today than in years past. He said it contributes to an atmosphere that is more hospitable to crime.

“I just think they should be visible in the communities,” Henuset said. “I’m not saying it will prevent all the crime, but awareness is an important thing.

“You got to be known. Now, they are not known.”

Several residents said after the event that they were satisfied with the meeting.

Gary Decock, a Deleau resident, said it was “refreshing” to sit down and speak with RCMP officers. He said he blames himself for some instances of theft on his property in the past, because he left equipment in vulnerable areas. He agreed with the RCMP’s advice about keeping valuables out of sight and locked away.

McCauley said it was great to see such a turnout of residents at the town hall.

“It’s good the community is engaged and has a vested interest,” he said. “As the RCMP, we look forward to working with them and strengthening that relationship.”

Phillips said it was productive and informative to bring police and citizens together for a face-to-face conversation.

“I think the message was delivered,” he said. “I think people got to realize this isn’t an episode of ‘Yellowstone.’ This is real life.

“I’m fully supportive of protecting your property. But I am in support of reasonable measures.”

He said that he thinks more of these meetings should take place across the province.

“I encourage all areas to do exactly what we did today.”

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com