Crime wave? What crime wave?
Despite a recent string of high-profile incidents - and a resulting furor from several local residents demanding more resources to fight criminal activity - the September statistical report from Battlefords City Detachment of the RCMP didn't show much change from the same month a year earlier.
In fact, the report presented Monday to council by Sgt. Darcy Woolfitt, acting commander for the detachment until a new inspector takes over, actually showed that calls for service in September were down to 1,056, compared to 1,257 for the same month in 2012.
Crime numbers were also down in several categories for September including provincial traffic offences (down from 169 to 132), liquor acts (from 33 to 21), drug offences (from 24 to eight), criminal code offences (188 to 182), business break and enters (from eight down to two), municipal bylaws (from 17 to 16) and perhaps most surprisingly of all, in person offences.
Those dropped from 93 to 80, despite some high-profile incidents during the month that made the news across the province.
Those included a stabbing death Sept. 30 ruled a homicide, two shooting incidents that sent victims to hospital, and two walking trail attacks on the same night Sept. 28.
In a response to a question from Councillor Ryan Bater about when the last time a murder had taken place in the city, Woolfitt responded it was "well over 10 years".
In other stats from September, there was a rise in residential break and enters from three to 13 and a rise in property offences from 209 to 243, and a slight increase in impaired operation of a motor vehicle from 29 to 31.
In general, the September statistics recorded an improvement over the same month a year earlier.
For the year through September, a less rosy picture emerges with the crime numbers.
The biggest problem areas are residential break and enters, up 34 per cent (98 from 73), and property offences up 14 per cent (2,226 from 1,950). Woolfitt notes, however, with respect to the residential break-ins, much of the rise was attributed to a group of five youths who were responsible for the increase.
The rest of the statistics for the year are a mixed bag of increases and also decreases. Person offences are up three per cent (676 from 650), business break and enters up nine per cent (35 from 32), criminal code offences down 11 per cent (1,415 from 1,592), drug offences down 35 per cent (209 from 324), liquor acts offences down 22 per cent (197 from 254), provincial traffic offences up four percent (1,948 from 1,874), impaired operation of a motor vehicle down 13 per cent (242 from 277) and municipal bylaws down 30 per cent (153 from 218).
For the year to date there have been 11,270 calls for service, compared to 11,876 for the same period a year earlier.
A total of 23 foot patrols were recorded in September, bringing the yearly total through the end of the month to 147.
Also presented to council were third-quarter crime statistics (July, August, September), which compared the 2013 numbers to those compiled for the previous two years.
Woolfitt reported that for the third quarter "in almost all of the categories except for provincial traffic enforcement, we showed a decrease in all areas with the exception of residential break and enters, where we've got a slight increase in that area."
The most dramatic rise was noted in provincial traffic offences, with 729 recorded for the third quarter of 2013 compared to 478 for the same period in 2012 and 144 in 2011.
Woolfitt noted provincial traffic enforcement has been stepped up due in part to the traffic services unit that operates out of the Battlefords detachment, as well as the traffic initiatives undertaken.
Residential break and enters were also on the rise for the three years, up to 41 for the third quarter of 2013 compared to 29 in the same period in 2012 and 23 in 2011. On the flip side, business break and enters were down dramatically in the same quarter from 22 in 2011 to 13 in 2012 and only four in 2013.
Both person offences and criminal code offences recorded declines in the third quarter. Person offences were down to 224 from 252 a year earlier, but still up from 204 in 2011. Criminal code offences fell from 647 in 2011, to 630 in 2012 and to 596 in 2013. Drug offences were at 43, down from 82 in 2012 and 72 in 2011.
As for property offences, activity in the category rebounded back to almost 2011 levels. In 2011, 857 property offences were recorded in the third quarter. That number fell to 699 for the same period in 2012 but was right back up to 840 for the same three months in 2013.
The crime statistical report prompted active discussion from councillors.
Bater asked about Crime Stoppers, which provided Woolfitt another opportunity to point to the advantages of the service. Woolfitt called it an "excellent tool for us," noting identities of callers are protected.
"That information cannot be released. It doesn't even get released to us," said Woolfitt.
He noted it was a good resource for those looking to provide information who were uncomfortable coming forward to the police but who were willing to speak anonymously.
Woolfitt also provided a further update about the rash of school break-ins that occurred from the summer, in response to a question from Councillor Greg Lightfoot.
While some of those youth who were arrested are still in the court system, Woolfitt confirmed all the people responsible had been "dealt with" by the RCMP.
