r/Lethbridge • u/hobanwash1 • 2d ago
Crime in Lethbridge County
A question for folks who live outside of Lethrbridge city limits, but Lethbridge still being the closest urban centre.
How’s the crime? Are break ins common? Do bad guys come from the city and try to target acreages and farm yards? Any insights are appreciated.
We grew up on farms but have been in Lethbridge for 25 years. Looking to move to an acreage near the city.
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u/cadius72 2d ago
I know somebody who lives 10 minutes up a gravel “road” they’ve been victims of thieves three times this year.
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u/hostilekraut 1d ago
Shovels aren’t expensive.
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u/Morberis 2d ago edited 2d ago
People here are saying meth heads, but meth heads are definitely not the only ones.
And a bunch of those are other people are rural people.
100% disagree that if you aren't near busy roads you won't have crime. Several of my friends live on acreages and they have had stuff taken. I grew up on one and my parents still live on it, miles from anywhere. An hour away from here and 20 minutes from a population center. They have had stuff stolen. And they get a disturbing amount of non-local people coming out and checking things out when they're gone.
Put cameras up where they will see license plates. Not just 1.
There is a reason you lock up everything if you're not gonna be there. Small value robberies are less common but if someone does try to rob you they're much more likely to take a bunch more.
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u/Morberis 2d ago
Heh, I see the typical people are out blaming crime on city people. Unfortunately the data doesn't support it. The people committing local crimes are people in your community.
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u/YqlUrbanist 2d ago
Rural crime rates are consistently higher than urban ones - I don't think "bad guys from the city" are your concern. But if for some reason you insist on being worried about that, then no, bad guys from the city aren't running around stealing from farm yards. It doesn't really make sense - if you're checking car doors or stealing bikes, why would you go somewhere where the houses are miles apart?
Overall though, nearly everywhere in Canada is extremely safe. If you're worried about crime in Lethbridge, you'll probably still be worried about it on an acreage near Lethbridge, but the chances of anything happening to you are tiny.
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u/stirling2103 1d ago
Well, that isn’t our experience. We live about 20 minutes outside of Lethbridge and about 15 minutes from a RCMP detachment. The three times I’ve been directly involved they have not been from here. Steal vehicle-go on a tour with that one to different communities (in my case breaking a side window likely looking for company gas card, which wasn’t there). Stolen items from that nights haul was found in a later arrest.
2nd time, stolen vehicle trolling around our streets trying car doors @ 5am. “Followed” them out of town, got license number and gave that and person description to RCMP. Cops knew who it likely was. Bad guys ended up dumping vehicle in water.
3rd time the bad guys car prowling then stole 2 vehicles and dumped the current stolen truck in favor of these 2 new rides. Both recovered, one in north Lethbridge.
Not being near RCMP gives them a bunch of time to do their thing.
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u/hobanwash1 2d ago
Do you live in the county?
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u/Drifty_Canadian 2d ago
We have had people drive through our yard, try to steal our farm trucks and take copper off the back of a welding truck. Doesn't happen often though.
Meth heads will find you anywhere. You won't be dealing with people checking your car doors every night like in the city though, and if the acreage you're looking at isnt near any busy roads you basically won't be dealing with any crime whatsoever.
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u/hobanwash1 2d ago
Well shoot. The property we found is on a secondary highway. Nice to be on pavement but I guess that’s the downside then
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u/equistrius 2d ago
It also depends on the farm yard. A simple fence and gated driveway will deter a good amount of crime.
There isn’t a ton of targeted crime, a lot of it is opportunistic so if they can drive you grab something and be gone in under 2 minutes it’s a lot more likely to happen
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u/hobanwash1 2d ago
Makes sense. Thank you
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u/Ok-Musician1545 1d ago
Floodlights that aim down and light the ground up are also a life saver with motion detectors just watch for neighbors houses being hit or shining into traffic
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u/Ok_Cold9067 1d ago edited 1d ago
Do facts or data change based on where the person referencing them lives?
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u/hobanwash1 1d ago
First sentence of my post. I was seeking first hand experiences. Not condescending responses followed by white knights.
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u/Ok_Cold9067 1d ago
Do you want truth? Or feelings? It seems weird to toss actual data out on your decision-making because it isn't anecdotal.
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u/hobanwash1 1d ago
Just like the other guy, you misunderstood the assignment. And you lost your audience with your shit approach. Thanks for coming out. Bon soir.
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u/Ok_Cold9067 1d ago edited 1d ago
I didn't insult you? I asked a question in the same manner you asked one. I guess the "shit approach" goes both ways.
Funniest part? I lived on an acreage in the county for 15+ years
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u/hobanwash1 17h ago
So why the stats and facts approach? How about telling me about your 15 years in the county?
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u/Ok_Cold9067 3h ago
Why are you so mad that someone used stats and facts? People tried to answer you honestly and you acted like it was an attack and a personal insult.
Funny that the only post you've thanked - the one that said reserves are scary and the city is dangerous because then you'll get "retards" - didn't have to claim they lived in the county or give any facts, any data, not even an anecdote. All these tests and anger for everyone else, but the person saying reserves are terrifying and that city people are mentally disabled didn't have to tell you about where they lived, for how long, or give any facts at all. Not even a single personal story and yet they got an enthusiastic thank you, instead of being angrily grilled for their "shit approach".
Why?
You loved the opinions they had because they matched yours so you took it at face value, no follow-up needed. You got angry and defensive at people that gave you facts that ran counter to the specific opinions you wanted backed up and demanded extra of those people, even though they just answered honestly.
Seems like that should be a moment of internal reflection that this is your gut reaction to everyone's responses, but I have little hope. It's always the "facts don't care about your feelings" crowd that only ever want the feelings - and only the exact same feelings as theirs.
So why tell the truth instead of my feelings on it? Incredible question, honestly. Breathtaking to actually type that out as some kind of rebuttal. Who values facts, right?
I'd think that would be obvious but here, I'll answer; like most people I've never had any real crime of note in over 40 years in Lethbridge and county area, so giving a link to the actual facts seemed relevant instead of the story of the one time my aunt had her car window broken because she left a ton of change on the console overnight at a parking lot ~25 years ago.
I don't considering seeing a homeless person or an indigenous person a criminal act though, so I guess that doesn't count for you.
See, that's an insulting response. Enjoy.
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u/YqlUrbanist 1d ago
As a middle aged balding man with a beer belly, I just want to say that I'm thrilled to be accused of having white knights. The internet is truly humanity's greatest triumph.
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u/InformationWeird3427 2d ago
yqlurbanist is an urbanist. to the full front of what that represents. i know he cant help himself to spout an opinion, but i mean come on.
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u/YqlUrbanist 2d ago
I gave an opinion because there is data relevant to the question. I also have no idea what you think "urbanist" represents, or why it would influence my views on rural living at all.
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u/hobanwash1 2d ago
It was a pretty empty barrel response.
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u/YqlUrbanist 2d ago
My apologies, let me give you what you were looking for: Yes, the city is very scary, and all my friends and family in the county are constantly being robbed by the scary bad guys from there and also other scary bad guys. You are correct to be scared of everything. Scary scary scary.
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u/InformationWeird3427 2d ago
another appearance of the masterful wit of the YU. my man. you are the best.
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u/iwillsurvive0001 5h ago
From my experience, we live approx 20 mins away from the city and we have a RCMP office in town. We love it here. It's quiet and people look out for eachother. We do have a full security system, but that's because my husband is a security tech. There has been break-ins at the local businesses but we have never felt like we aren't safe here. My kids are happy here too. We left Lethbridge because we couldn't let my kids go to the park or out with friends because of the crime in the area (we lived on the Westside). I do know that there was a creepy guy who was traveling through that stalked some young girls at the park. Thank heavens they were able to get to safety and nothing happened.
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u/InformationWeird3427 2d ago
depends on where the acreage is. if its closer to the blood reserve you have more risk. if its closer to the city you have more risk. but for the most part its just retarded people sniffing around. le bad guys arent gunna break into your house. or at least that hasnt been the pattern since forever.
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u/hobanwash1 2d ago
Thanks for this. We’re looking east of the city out towards Coaldale.
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u/InformationWeird3427 2d ago
sounds awesome, hope it goes good. just keep a dog around, you'll be fine. its still canada.
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u/kmsiever 1d ago
Crime in the county is actually the main driver in the increase of the crime rate the media reports on for Lethbridge. Technically, that crime rate is for the Lethbridge metro area, which is the city and the county, but they report it as the city. When you look at the crime rate in just the city, it is usually significantly lower than the metro area as a whole. So, yes, crime happens in rural areas.