Crime continues to decrease in Battleford, according to a quarterly report presented to Battleford Town Council Monday by Sgt. Carl Dinsdale, senior detail supervisor for the rural department of the RCMP.
The report shows the only offence that saw more charges during this year's July to September quarter than last year's were Liquor Act offences, which totalled seven.
"Overall," said Dinsdale, "I would say crime statistics are coming down, and they would tell us that means the lack of crime is a success."
Dinsdale said he was happy to see false alarms down. There were 22 compared to 41 in the same time period last year. As of the end of September, the total for the year was 74.
"False alarms are a huge time consumer for us," said Dinsdale. "We have a policy within the province of Saskatchewan where, if you have three consecutives, you'll get a letter from the RCMP saying we're going to suspend immediate response to your alarms until such time as you have an alarm service technician come and make sure it's operating properly."
He explained they would still respond to alarms, but it wouldn't be a priority response. The RCMP would want a key holder to attend and verify if there is an offence, and then they would come and investigate.
Once an alarm system is re-certified, the RCMP would re-instate full service.
The report to council for the third quarter of 2014 also saw 16 person offences, with youth involvement in four of those, compared to 19 with one youth involvement in the same time last year.
There were three break and enters, two to businesses and one to a residence.
Property offences topped the numbers at 53, however they were up to 79 during the same quarter last year.
Criminal Code offences numbered 16 compared to 20 last year.
Only one drug offence was listed.
Motor vehicle collisions remained the same at two.
Provincial traffic offences were down to 38 from 62.
Impaired driving offences numbered eight, compared to 16 during the same quarter last year.
There were five municipal bylaw offences, compared to 10 last year and calls for assistance to the public were at 10, similar to the same time last year.
Dinsdale noted when a police vehicle is seen in Battleford, it is often on the way to some place else.
Mayor Derek Mahon added residence have commented sirens seem to be heard more often, probably because police need to use them at the traffic lights at 29th Street and Highway 4.
Dinsdale also told council the RCMP school liaison officers have begun reconnecting with the schools now that classes have begun, making regular visits to interact with children and staff.
He talked about the possibility of a new drug awareness program to replace the DARE program, a Drug Abuse Resistance Education prevention program taught by police offers.
He said, "It kind of fell off the radar, due partly to the large cost of the program."
"We don't' have any DARE officers trained at the moment," said Dinsdale.
A drawback to the DARE program is that it means training police officers, at great expense, who could get a transfer notice the next day "and that training goes with them," he said.
He suggested the Aboriginal Shield Program, which is community-led and community-funded, offers a similar curriculum. The schools and the community would have to come up with some people who would dedicate themselves to the program; it involves community facilitators and the police assist, said Dinsdale.
Don't be deterred by the program's name, he noted.
"It's a good program," he said. "If it's something the schools in town want to explore, we certainly want to sit down and explore it with them."
The Aboriginal Shield Program is one of RCMP's Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Service's main initiatives. It is a youth-driven program that provides substance abuse prevention and healthy lifestyles coaching.
