WESTERN ONTARIO: Should the law get tougher on rural crime? Farms are increasingly a target

WALLACEBURG — A plan to impose tougher sentences on crimes committed in rural areas has renewed long-standing concerns about thieves and vandals targeting Ontario farmers.
In his leadership platform, Erin O’Toole, the newly-elected federal Conservative leader, said that if he formed a government he would add “sentencing consideration” for offenses “directed at a property or person that was vulnerable because of their remoteness from emergency services.”
A statement from O’Toole’s office said the sentencing guidelines are aimed at curbing rural crime across the country, noting a 2017 Statistics Canada report that crime is disproportionately higher in rural areas than in urban. The problem is most severe in the northern area of the Prairie provinces where police have large territories to patrol. Earlier this year Alberta’s solicitor-general asked the federal government to impose harsher sentences on crimes committed in rural areas.
The 2017 Statistics Canada also noted that rural crime is less severe in southern Ontario, with the number of reported incidents lower than in urban areas.
But Crispin Colvin, a cash crop and beef farmer in Middlesex County said there is merit to O’Toole’s proposal.
“I think that some sort of sentencing guideline would be helpful. Some people are deterred by the tougher punishment … so I think it would be a deterrent.”
Colvin, a former warden of Middlesex County, said rural municipalities have struggled for years to improve policing levels. He said thieves are becoming more clever, and security cameras and sensors have limitations in getting good images.
“It can be difficult to make a charge stick and that’s where some of the frustrations come from. Even if you have all the bell and whistles, you’re facing an uphill battle.”
Colvin said farmers sometimes do not take simple precautions such as locking their doors and vehicles because they believe they are living in a safe area.
“In a way we are our own worst enemies because we are so trusting,” he said.
Lambton County crop farmer Robert Johnston agrees that rural crime has always been a problem. “The prize is four-wheelers, chainsaws and cordless tools that you can carry.”
He added that lately, even in the town of Wallaceburg, things have gotten worse as thieves are breaking into shops in the middle of the night.
Norfolk County OPP Const. Ed Sanchuk grew up in a farming family and married into a farm family so he knows the problems first hand.
“I go up to my father-in-law’s farm and there’s a $100,000 truck with the keys still in it,” he said.
Sanchuk said pickup trucks stolen from farms are often used in other crimes such break and enters, robberies and human trafficking. Thieves have used stolen trucks to smash into stores and cart away ATM machines. He warned if farmers leave the keys in a vehicle they could be held liable in a civil suit if the stolen vehicle is a factor in a subsequent injury or crime.
He agrees that part of the problem is the long-held belief that rural areas are safer.
“We shouldn’t have to lock our doors, but the fact is – we do… If you don’t think it’s going to happen to you – well, it’s just a matter of time.”
Sanchuk has advised farmers in his area that locking vehicles and buildings is essential. He said security lights, motion sensors and video cameras can provide valuable evidence to secure a conviction if the criminals are caught. All tools and equipment should be marked or identified in some way so they can be returned to the owner if they are recovered by police.
But Sanchuk said the best line of defense is vigilance and cooperation with neighbors,
“You need to report suspicious activity right away. Get a description of the vehicle and the person and last known direction.”
Sgt. Kerry Schmidt of OPP headquarters in Orillia said it’s difficult to determine if rural crime is becoming more prevalent in rural areas, but he agrees security is more challenging than in densely-populated neighborhood. Schmidt said as farm vehicles and equipment become more hi-tech and valuable it can create a “treasure trove” for thieves.
“Rural properties have a much bigger footprint – there’s much more to secure and monitor ,” said Schmidt, who said limiting the number of gates or access points to a property could improve security.
While Ontario has some community watch programs, Alberta and Saskatchewan are further ahead in organized efforts to combat rural crime. Alberta has had a rural Crime Watch program in place since 1978 with the full cooperation of the RCMP. Saskatchewan started up its own program in 2018 and it has grown rapidly, said RCMP corporal Mel Zurvinsky, who has been traveling across the province promoting the program
The program has developed an app that allows members to post any suspicious activity which can be passed on to an RCMP liaison officer in each detachment. Working with Crime Stoppers, Zurvinsky said the program has been successful in posting security videos which led to the arrest of suspects.
Zurvinsky said it is too early to judge whether the program has been effective in curbing crime in Saskatchewan but the interest is strong. About 195 rural municipalities in the province have jumped on board.
Zurvinksy said some of the interest was likely spurred by the 2018 trial of Gerald Stanley , a farmer who was acquitted after being charged with the murder of an indigenous man. That incident was sparked by the attempted theft of an ATV from Stanley’s farm.
Zurvinsky said rural depopulation has made farm families feel more vulnerable.
“Farms are few and far between. There isn’t a family on every half-section anymore,” he said. “When I was on a school bus there were 35-40 kids. Now it’s a van with four kids.”