Second quarter statistics are in for the Battlefords RCMP detachment and while overall calls for service are up, many crime categories are seeing noticeable declines.
Statistics were presented by the newly installed RCMP Insp. Tom Beck to North Battleford council Monday evening. According to that report, calls for service in North Battleford for the period April-June stood at 3636, up from 3,586 for the same period last year. For the year to date, it was 6,352, up slightly from 6,328.
Most crime categories are posting declines compared to a year earlier. Declines for the quarter were noted for person offences (ie. robberies, assaults, sexual assaults, etc.) from 342 to 227, for criminal code offences from 611 to 503, for drug offences from 51 to 23, for liquor acts from 124 to 75, and municipal bylaws from 50 to 37. For the year to date, person offences are down from 620 to 470; criminal code offences down from 1021 to 922, drug offences down from 99 to 47, liquor acts from 187 to 120, municipal bylaws from 74 to 52, and impaired operation of a motor vehicle from 93 to 90.
Property offences are also down significantly for the year, from 1,562 to 1,030.
One category seeing a significant increase was in break and enters. While business break and enters were down for the quarter from 14 to 13, residential break and enters were up from 40 to 69. For the year, business break and enters are up from 20 to 29 and residential break and enters up from 70 to 116.
Beck said break-ins to residences “is an ongoing problem” and RCMP are “looking at different avenues to try and curb that as we speak.” Beck noted they have essentially “split in half” their plainclothes section of policing, and from that have a new team out the streets doing some “proactive policing,” looking at drug targets and property offenders.
Also up were provincial traffic offences, from 307 to 712. Insp. Beck pointed to sections of the force going out and proactively doing that work as a reason for that rise.
Battleford
Battleford has seen some calls for service increases in the past few months, but nothing is too out-of-the-ordinary.
Battlefords RCMP Inspector Tom Beck has been in his role for over a month, and presented second quarter crime-related information to Battleford town council at Monday’s council meeting.
Two areas that saw more calls for service were property offences and person offences.
2018’s second quarter person offence calls were 27 compared to this year’s 31, while 2018’s property offence calls were 68 last year versus this year’s 84.
Meanwhile, provincial traffic offences decreased, as did impaired driving offences.
Mayor Ames Leslie asked Beck if the lower number of traffic offences was due to less police presence in Battleford.
Beck said a drop in such numbers meant police weren’t writing as many tickets for such matters.
Beck also said he assumed there were just as many people speeding and running stop signs as last year, despite the decrease in numbers.
According to Beck’s report, local RCMP are beginning high visibility patrols, and initiatives to “track prolific offenders, deal with gang-related crimes and execute outstanding arrest warrants on high risk offenders.”
Plain clothes policing, Beck said, is taking place, targeting chronic offenders.
In December 2018, the police and crisis team (PACT) began working in the Battlefords. PACT is a measure to deal with people suffering from “mental health and addictions crisis situations,” Beck’s report states.
Depending on the circumstances, PACT-team members (who are mental health professionals) can direct people who are subjects of calls to mental health units rather than often overcrowded emergency rooms.
Leslie told Beck some residents want to see police cars driving around more often.
