Staff Sergeant Dale Kendall gives last quarterly update to council

by Tristan Turner

Dale Kendall, Morinville’s RCMP detachment head, gave her last formal presentation to council at their Feb. 27 meeting to present the Detachment’s quarterly report. Kendall announced that evening that she will be leaving the Morinville detachment in order to accept a senior advisory role at Edmonton’s K Division headquarters, a job that Kendall said, “You just don’t say no to.”

Kendall made the report along with a brief introduction of her successor for the interim, Sergeant Chris Palfy, who briefly introduced himself to council as being “on lend” from the St. Albert detachment, and being a father who is excited to contribute to the department.

Kendall included the revelation that crime is on the rise in Morinville in the fourth quarter of 2017, though this is part of a general provincial trend and cautioned that it should not be a significant concern. The largest area of increase was in property crime, which grew by approximately 7 per cent in the quarter, with Kendall acknowledging a major recent occurrence where a local liquor store experienced a significant break-and-enter using a vehicle.

Kendall also noted that, after years of persistent staffing issues, the detachment now has a full compliment of staff, something encouraging for the department going forward. Also, she emphasized that it is important for residents to lock up their private property, including their homes and vehicles particularly.

Kendall stressed it is vital that residents report all crime, even minor thefts as the Detachment is now using that data for preventative crime measures, targeting areas of high crime activity.

Following her presentation, Kendall received a farewell gift from Mayor Turner, including two framed artistic depictions of Morinville for Kendall to take with her into her future career. Turner thanked her for her service to the Town and caused Kendall to tear up as she received her recognition.

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