It’s summertime in the Battlefords. That means all kinds of wonderful activities such as going to the lake, splashing around at the Tot Lot and enjoying our yards and gardens.
Unfortunately it is also the season for statistics.
Yes, right smack in the middle of every summer since 2009 residents of the Battlefords can look forward to the release of the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics Crime Severity Index. For several years running North Battleford has been at the top of the CSI for communities over 10,000 population in Canada.
In the past that designation has led to ridiculous hyperbole in provincial and national media painting the city as a community under siege. Those of us who live here acknowledge there are problems and are concerned that despite concentrated and creative efforts by the RCMP, the city and other agencies, problems continue. We also know numbers don’t necessarily reflect the true nature of the situation.
First of all making North Battleford the focal point of the CSI is a skewed perspective. Many of the incidents rated by the index have roots in social problems such as addictions, poverty, family breakdown and sub-standard housing. These problems have regional roots, they aren’t strictly North Battleford’s problems.
And, as Insp. John Sutherland, commander of the Battlefords RCMP Detachment so eloquently puts it, “We cannot arrest our way out of these issues. We must stop the cycle of using the police to arrest and incarcerate people with addictions and mental health issues.”
Those arrests feed the statistics monster, but they don’t mean average citizens are in imminent danger. These are people who know each other doing bad things to one another.
What about gangs? For sure gang activity is a serious problem in this community and we can take heart in the fact a targeted policing initiative, the Crime Reduction Team, has had its mandate extended. The team uses intelligence to disrupt gang and drug activity or to track prolific offenders. A post to the News-OptimistFacebook page in response to a crime-related story earlier this year described a favoured location for drug transactions. I passed that information on to Insp. Sutherland and he immediately advised the Crime Reduction Team would act on it.
Which brings us to an important point. When the RCMP held a town hall session at Alex Dillabough Centre in June one of the key messages was the police need the citizens of the community to be their eyes and ears. If you see suspicious activity, report it. Don’t adopt the attitude that no one is going to do anything. The above example shows the RCMP will take action.
Statistics and Reality
“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.”
That phrase is attributed to Mark Twain. It is a completely accurate description of how the CSI describes North Battleford, but it has some relevance.
I’m actually noted for my lack of mathematical acuity, so for me to analyze the statistical method behind the CSI would be nothing short of laughable. A comment in the RCMP press release about the index is interesting, however.
The RCMP states, when it comes to CSI or crime severity, it’s important to remember that a few, serious crimes at the higher end of that spectrum can skew the numbers in low-population areas. For example, one or two additional aggravated assaults in Saskatoon (pop. 240,000) will hardly register on the index, whereas a handful of serious crimes in a smaller community like North Battleford will push the CSI numbers up.
Another way to look at crime statistics is to see increased arrest numbers reflecting increased enforcement and improved crime solving, meaning those who are involved in criminal activity aren’t just getting away with it.
However you skew them. the numbers don’t paint the Battlefords in a good light, but as we get on with the rest of the summer, we know that painting leaves out the beautiful river valley, the wonderful lakes, the lush golf courses, the well-kept parks, the kilometres of walking trails, the art galleries and recreation facilities and all of the other amenities that make this such a great place to spend a summer day.
