The Battlefords RCMP detachment is continuing to see crime creep up in several categories in the city of North Battleford.
Insp. John Sutherland provided the statistical report for September to city council Monday, and the year-to-date numbers showed increases in most categories.
The categories that were stable or decreasing included business break and enters (even), residential break and enters (down two per cent), provincial traffic offences (down 33 per cent) and impaired operation of a motor vehicle (down nine per cent).
The other categories saw increases for the year. Person offences are up 19 per cent. Property offences are up 16 per cent. Criminal code offences are up eight per cent. Drug offences are up three per cent. Liquor act offences are up three per cent and motor vehicle collisions are up 30 per cent. Municipal bylaw infractions are also up one per cent.
According to Sutherland, the persons offences would include such things as assaults and threats against people. Property offences would include mischief and vandalism, while criminal codes would include frauds, obstruction, breach of conditions and breach of undertakings.
This upward trend is not confined to North Battleford.
“This increase in statistics is common across the province right now for most police departments,” said Sutherland. He had attended the Sask. Association of Chiefs of Police meeting in Yorkton, and noted everyone was starting to see this increase in numbers.
Insp. Sutherland also spoke some more about the strategic vision for the RCMP detachment and goals for the detachment in the future, including their intentions to move towards use of analytical/statistical data in policing.
As an example of what he was talking about, Sutherland cited the review done recently of the downtown area for Community Safety Co-ordinator Herb Sutton and the Community Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design committee working in the city. An analyst did a review of the area.
“We can now say by looking at the data that alcohol is the biggest component of the crime in North Battleford,” said Sutherland.
“Three alcohol-based businesses in the area that was examined are responsible for 35 per cent of the crimes in the analysis.”
As well, 52 per cent of the crimes were offences under the Liquor Act or disturbing the peace.
The top five addresses reviewed in the analytical review were responsible for 43 per cent of the crimes, and the top three for 35 per cent.
These crimes would include mischief, assaults and liquor offences, and “all of these contribute to the Crime Severity Index which is high in this city and we’re working to reduce.”
For the detachment, Sutherland also wanted to see a research assistant/analyst taken on in the future so “that we can focus on what’s causing the crime and our numbers” and be able to concentrate on that.
