Ted Valentine, multi tasking, as is his wont, introduced our speaker. Sherri Zickafoose is a crime reporter for the Calgary Herald since 2004. She formerly was the editor of the Banff Crag and Canyon newspaper. Ted mused about Sherri's father being a "stellar centre for the Calgary Stampeders". She demonstrates the same tenacity as her father when she daily writes about the villains and victims of Calgary's crime scene.

Sherri started by saying that it's hard to find a "sensational NY style crime story". It takes a lot of digging by a reporter to ferret out the information. Oftentimes, the police don't release information and it takes an inquisitive reporter to dig up a story.

Sometimes there are funny stories, like the burglar who took time to make himself a meal before taking off with the loot.

Some stories can "break your heart", like the story of the 12 year old girl in Medicine Hat. She came from a good home, but conceived a plot to kill her own family members and then recruited a 23 year old male to do the crime. Her parents were loving parents but need to watch for signs and be internet savvy. The 12 year old was posting pictures of herself and lying about her age.

Sometimes people want to talk to someone just to try to make sense of a senseless crime. Reporters are under time deadlines: the crime has to be reported "when it happens" and the story has to be together by 6PM to get into the next day's paper. A reporter needs to get there before the police shut the scene down, so listening to police radio is part of the job.

Calgary does not have an organized crime history, as does Montreal. But we do have drug-based crimes, both sinister and underground. BC gangs are migrating into Calgary.

It's frustrating for a reporter to report on a crime and the subsequent trial and then see the villain get a minimal sentence in our justice system by plea bargains or easy judges. It's even tougher on the victims to see the perpetrator get reduced sentences.

The Hawk's helicopters have proven invaluable in curtailing crime particularly since the Calgary police force has a no-chase policy.

Sherri was thanked by Robyn Braley saying that she helped to "make sense out of an unexplainable story". Robyn also mentioned Sherri's book, on sale at the back, indicating there were two editions, one with short words and pictures for engineers!

reported by Bill Tapuska