'The days of not locking doors are gone': Sask. RCMP say after rural crime reports

​RCMP spoke to media about rural crime and staffing at detachments at a news conference in Saskatoon today.

The issue of rural crime has become heated in the past few weeks. Last week, a farmhand near Fiske, Sask., was approached Monday on a rural road by three masked men carrying handguns.

While RCMP said he couldn't comment on that case, he acknowledged that people were angry.

"We know that people are frustrated and feeling violated," said Saskatoon RCMP Supt. Michael Gibbs.

"We don't want the Wild West. That's something we're very concerned about."

Since that incident, many farmers have begun carrying rifles for their safety during harvest. They say crime has spiked in the past few years.

"The days of not locking doors are gone," said Gibbs.

Gibbs said RCMP are trying to restore public faith, adding that police in detachments across the province are doing the best they can right now. He urged farmers not to take matters into their own hands.

"I guess you have to reflect on the level of seriousness you're dealing with," said Gibbs. "Are you willing to put yourself into danger for a suspicious person? That's a question you have to ask yourself."

Several people east of Saskatoon have started a Facebook page called Farmers With Firearms to spread information on suspicious behaviour in the area.

However, the RCMP are very clear that they want policing left to police.

"We urge everyone to take a deep breath and think about what they're posting," said Gibbs.

While RCMP said there were 34 complaints made in the rural area around Saskatoon from late August to September, they were unable to provide further information. Police said crime rates in west-central Saskatchewan are up.

Police said they were willing to work with community rural crime watch programs, and said the force responds to calls based on how serious they are.

"Our first priority will be responding to calls where people are in danger of being hurt or killed."

Farmers with Firearms

"It's frustrating," said Ryan McIntyre, a farmer located in west-central Saskatchewan. "About two years ago, we started locking our houses. This is something we've never had to do."

He's part of a group of farmers who chased a suspicious SUV for two hours between the towns of Kerrobert and Rosetown earlier this week. He said the group wasn't armed and followed at a safe distance.

"I know it's a free country, but you don't drive in people's yards for no reason," he said. "People stop in, you get lost, we'll help you. But as soon as you bolt out of there, and there's suspicious activity, we aren't going to like that."

McIntyre is also part of the Farmers With Firearms group on Facebook. Local farmers have started using the group to spread information about suspicious activity. While he stresses the group members aren't vigilantes, he said farmers need to investigate suspicious matters to help understaffed RCMP patrol a large area.

"You could drive around at three in the morning, and never see a light," he said. "The chances of finding another vehicle in the middle of nowhere is very rare. The best you can do is, when your neighbour has some suspicious activity in their yard, you phone and let everyone in the community know."