The three senior ranking RCMP officers visited Cranbrook city council Monday, February 6 to make their quarterly report.

Cpl. Pat Prefontaine introduced Sgt. Brendan McKenna, who has just been transferred to the Cranbrook Detachment to take over as the Operational NCO.

In the last three months of 2011, Cpl. Prefontaine told council the RCMP had 2,007 calls for service in Cranbrook. The same period in 2010 saw 2,087 calls.

Most of those calls - 228 - were property related offences such as break and enter, thefts, and mischief to property. Person offences such as assaults, robbery, threats and criminal harassment were responsible for 152 of the calls.

After Cpl. Prefontaine gave the report, Councillor Gerry Warner mentioned the charge against now-former RCMP officer Bryden Hennessey who stole a laptop while on duty last October.

"While I commend the way this was brought to the public as quickly as it was and in a very professional way, I'm wondering if there's any additional comment anyone from the force would like to say to a public that must be getting a little concerned about these incidents over and over again," said Warner.

Inspector Brian Edmondson, who is the Officer in Charge of the Cranbrook detachment, stood up to respond.

"Peace officers are expected to make decisions with limited time and limited information. Everyone else - management in the police and the public, of course - has months to scrutinise when a police officer has a matter of seconds to make a decision. Sometimes they make the wrong decision. More often than not they make the right decision, but that never makes the news," said Insp. Edmondson.