Hobbema RCMP carry caseload 3.5 times national average

Drugs and alcohol are fueling increased violence in Hobbema and more police are needed to help deal with the growing problems, community leaders say.

Officers in the detachment investigate more than three times the number of cases of other RCMP officers an average of 292 cases a year compared to 66 for the average Canadian officer and 120 for Alberta members.

"Our members are all responsive policing," Hobbema Const. Darrel Bruno said. "There is very little time for proactive policing."

Early Saturday morning, 30-year-old Ian Montour was beaten to death at an outdoor party on the Montana First Nation, one of four native communities in the Hobbema area.

A 17-year-old girl has been charged with second-degree murder.

His wife Heather Potts said he was drinking with some friends behind their home when he got into a fight with an uninvited guest. A group of youth then returned and jumped the father of five, Potts said.

"Ian was such a good person," Potts said.

Bradley Rabbit, a Montana band councillor, says police have difficulty maintaining order because they're understaffed.

"Our RCMP are overwhelmed in regards to the number of caseloads each individual RCMP has, and it's a lot more than any other area in Canada," Rabbit said.

Band officials say policing alone won't help solve the social problems in the communities, but argue it would provide a safer environment while they decide how to address the other issues.