Addressing gang violence in the Battlefords is the number one priority of the Battlefords RCMP detachment.
That was the message from the detachment’s commanding officer Insp. Tom Beck at a meeting of North Battleford city council Monday, Oct. 28.
As was the case a week earlier at Battleford Town Hall, recent violence in and around the community was a hot topic on the minds of councillors at North Battleford city hall. The violence has included the recent homicide incident in Battleford as well as a shooting incident on 105th Street in North Battleford.
In response to a question by Mayor Ryan Bater on whether the perception that shootings had increased was accurate, Beck replied “Unfortunately, I would suggest that our shooting incidents are definitely on the increase. There’s no question about that.”
“Most all of it is gang violence, it is gang-related issues that we are looking at, so we are beefing up our crime reduction strategies here and working with some provincial partners,” Beck said.
He said he had a meeting recently with some provincial RCMP members that had been offering some services. He said the Crime Reduction Team plans extended time here, along with provincial General Investigation Section who will assist in doing crime reduction strategies.
“Over the next little while, we will have an increased police presence locally within the city and just in the area, trying to get a cap on some of these shootings and the other gang violence that we are seeing in the community. Like I said, I can’t express enough that this is our number one priority right now. This has all effectively consumed my days and has been consuming my days for the last probably month and a half.”
Mayor Bater also noted that the issue is shared by neighbours throughout the region.
Beck agreed, saying “it’s not just North Battleford feeling this increase, our communities all around are feeling this gang influence.”
Beyond that, third quarter numbers were presented for Battlefords RCMP detachment and the numbers for the city are largely static, with total calls for service down two per cent for the year.
Through Sept. 30, calls stood at 10,022, down slightly from 10,187 for the same period in 2018.
Calls for the third quarter July 1-Sept. 30 were up slightly, however, from 3,719 to 3,732.
Calls from North Battleford made up 64 per cent of the total calls for service throughout the entire detachment area. That area spans four RMs, five First Nations, and the resort villages of Jackfish Lake.
As for individual categories within the city for the year to date, persons offenses were down from 929 to 668, business break and enters down 52 to 43, residential break and enters up from 136 to 176, other break and enters down 57 to 50, property offences down from 2,448 to 2,213, drug offences down 154 to 80 and criminal code offences down from 1708 to 1581.
In speaking to reporters Mayor Bater acknowledged the worries that residents had about the recent shooting incidents.
“I know the public is concerned. That concern is shared at City Hall,” said Bater. The mayor said he was encouraged to hear it was a priority of the detachment to deal with the gang issues.
“Organized criminal activity, the associated drug trade and firearms is an epidemic throughout western Canada. We see it here throughout our community. I speak to leaders throughout the rest of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon or Regina. They see the same activity. It’s a cancer that’s infecting our part of the world, and it’s going to take a lot of co-ordination and resources, it’s going to take a lot of leadership to address it.
