'Never at ease': Rural crime spurs new RCMP approach to tackling root causes

Standing in a nearly empty Quonset on a northern Alberta farm, Lawrence Ference jabs his finger into the air pointing to spots where his belongings used to be.
It’s just past 9:30 p.m. in mid-October and sleet is pooling in truck tire ruts carved in the mud outside. Inside, under harsh fluorescent lights, the bison farmer’s giant black dog Dexx weaves in and out of his legs looking for pats or food, or both.
Minutes earlier, RCMP Sgt. James Morton watched a set of headlights disappea