It is kind of a tradition in journalism at this time of year to rehash the most significant stories of the year. I thought about a crime Top 5, but that might be a bit redundant since four of those also made it into the Top 10 overall news stories.
Instead, I will reflect on some of the things that struck me as I covered crime this year. Please note that these are observations only, and hardly scientific. In July, when the crime statistics for 2016 are released, they may or may not corroborate my subjective impressions.
I should also note, that many factors influence both impressions of crime and crime statistics. Just as an example of the former, because we elected a new federal government in October 2015 that promised to legalize marijuana, I may have paid more attention to how the system handled pot cases.
As far as the latter goes, the smaller the jurisdiction, the more a small number of individuals or a particularly prolific crime spree can skew the numbers.
In any event, following are some of my impressions, for what they are worth.
It felt like 2016 was a particularly violent year. The courts are always clogged with a lot of domestic incidents and this year was no exception; Section 266 (common assault) was a mainstay of Monday dockets.
Sadly, did you ever notice that whenever Saskatchewan is double (or more) the national average in something, it is something negative?
Beyond that, there seemed to be a rash of much more serious violence in 2016. We had our first murder since 2010 and also an attempted murder.
Also, I can’t remember another year in which we had one home invasion with violence much less four. And those are just the ones I know of off the top of my head.
Some of those may be related, although I can’t say for certain, which goes back to my earlier point about crime sprees.
Speaking of related, at least two of those home invasions were drug-related as so much crime is.
And speaking of drugs, if 2015 was the year of cocaine, it seemed like methamphetamine was the drug of choice for 2016. There was a lot of the stuff around and my discussions with police and the Crown would bear this out, although I still cannot guarantee the statistics will.
As an aside, the nation reeled this year with a Fentanyl crisis. And although that does not appear to have made its way, in any big way, to Yorkton, we did have our first case of Fentanyl trafficking hit the courts in 2016.
Of course, marijuana is a perennial topic when it comes to drugs and as I mentioned earlier, the pot laws are kind of in limbo in Canada, at least in practical terms if not absolute ones.
Much has been written about selective enforcement and illegal have, if you will pardon the pun, like weeds especially in bigger centres and often operate as if they are legal, which I assure you they are not.
In Yorkton, however, it appeared to be business as usual. On any given Monday CDSA Section 4 is front and centre and a handful of people (dumb kids mostly), plead guilty to simple possession and, if a first offence, usually receive alternative measures. If not, it is a fine and criminal record.
Trudeau promised new legislation in the spring. He needs to get on with it.
Finally, I would feel irresponsible if I did not mention drunk driving. Remember my question about bad things, Saskatchewan and double the national average?
Aside from breaches of conditional sentences, probation orders and other court undertakings, Section 253 (impaired driving and .08) are still the number one most common charges on docket days.
It is party season, making that stat particularly poignant. Can we please make a New Year’s resolution, Yorkton, to stop this scourge of society?
Let’s have a happy, crime-free holiday season, folks.
