Areas near Prince Albert, Sask., see surge in property crime

Betty Barton woke up one night in September to her security alarms going off. She looked outside to see two men going through her vehicles. I just opened up my window and kind of yelled at them and they took off running. And then later when we looked at the camera, we could see that the one had a gun. Barton lives on a rural property south of Prince Albert near McDowell. She says the armed trespassers have her fearing for her safety. If you were to go out and confront them, you don't know what they're going to do. Prince Albert RCMP say its rural detachment area recorded 58 break-and-enters between August and October, a 71% increase compared to the same time period last year. Over 200 people packed a recent town hall meeting hosted by the rural municipality of Garden River to discuss rural crime prevention. Some are calling for government action. What we need is legislation that protects us, gives us the right, To protect our own property. With RCMP having to travel longer distances to get to rural residents, many want to know what they can do to protect themselves. Because being a person out in the country, somebody coming onto your property, you're not trained to anticipate what they're there for. Whether they're there just to steal, whether they're there to invade your home. They have weapons. In the last three months, RCMP say theft reports are up by 36% over last year. Over half involve motor vehicles. An increased number of reported... Thefts, break-and-enters, stolen vehicles, stolen quads and side-by-sides. An MLA that represents rural areas surrounding Prince Albert says the province is working to improve the justice system and policing. It created the Safer Public Spaces Act, the Saskatchewan Marshal Service, and increased funding to the RCMP. Ensuring that we're able to support the police wherever and whenever we can with provincial legislation, all the while lobbying our federal government for things like bail reform. And things like stiffer penalties. The RCMP says it's working with the marshals to improve response times and increase patrols in rural areas. This includes having marshals work night shifts. Lisa Rism, CBC News, Spruce Home.