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NB crime stats for first quarter: mixed results but some good news

It’s a mixed bag when it came to the statistics from the Battlefords RCMP detachment for the first quarter of 2019. Sgt.
Sgt. Carl Dinsdale of Battlefords RCMP detachment provided details on the first quarter stats for No
Sgt. Carl Dinsdale of Battlefords RCMP detachment provided details on the first quarter stats for North Battleford for January to March.

It’s a mixed bag when it came to the statistics from the Battlefords RCMP detachment for the first quarter of 2019.

Sgt. Carl Dinsdale of Battlefords RCMP detachment provided details on the first quarter stats for North Battleford for January to March to members of North Battleford city council Monday. Overall, calls for services declined slightly from January through March to 2,697 from 2,792 for the same period in 2018.

As for the various crime categories, some showed declines while others saw increases.

On the decline are person offences from 280 to 254, property offences from 664 to 613, drug offences from 41 to 24, liquor acts from 63 to 45, municipal bylaw offences from 29 to 15.

On the way up are business break and enters from 7 to 16, residential break and enters from 30 to 46, criminal code offences from 411 to 428, motor vehicle collisions from 70 to 76, provincial traffic offences from 231 to 257 and impaired operation of a motor vehicle from 44 to 45.

Dinsdale was glad to see persons offences go down as those “tend to cause the most unrest for people, or discomfort, knowing those crimes are committed in the community.”

The bulk of the crime, as noted previously by RCMP, are based in “social issues” – behavioural, poverty, addictions, housing, food security and so on.

“The police, while we like to think we can do everything, we simply can’t,” said Dinsdale. However, they partnering with others in the community to get help to those underlying social issues.

Dinsdale also pointed to initial results from the Police and Crisis Team (PACT) established last December, which he called “quite promising.” During the first quarter there were 71 calls to PACT, saving approximately 142 policing hours that would have previously been spent awaiting medical assistance with those affected individuals.