The citizens of Red Deer have spoken, and the city and the RCMP have responded by launching a new RCMP unit dedicated to the downtown core.

This is all part of their Annual Policing Plan, which identified the downtown as a priority for their crime reduction work.

It was made possible by city council approving funding for ten additional officers back in January.

Public consultation determined six of those units would be added to the Crime Reduction Team, with the remaining four assigned to this downtown unit.

Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer says with Red Deer being a central hub between the major centers of Calgary and Edmonton they've had to deal with the overflow of crime from those cities, as well as a change in the dynamic of society in the last ten years with an every shifting economy.

“In January council approved the additional $1.5 million for ten new officers recognizing that we needed to make an overall reduction through enforcement in terms of Red Deer’s crime rates. As we went through the annual policing process this year it came through loud and clear through citizen engagement that they wanted a specific downtown unit.”

RCMP Inspector Dean LaGrange explains what the focus of this downtown unit will be.

“Their main priority is to be highly visible, deterrent to crime, engaging with business and citizens, and again, when they come across social disorder issues and criminal elements in the downtown core, they are expected to deal with them as any other police officer would.”

Those new downtown units will be on bikes, Segway's, on foot, and when it gets cold enough, vehicle patrol.