The final statistics are in for the year for Battlefords RCMP detachment and they show a marked decline in crime instances across the board.
According to a report presented this week to the North Battleford Planning Committee, calls for service fell to 12,837 for 2014, from 14,912 for the same period a year earlier.
In the various crime categories, there were declines across most categories with the exception of Liquor Act offences, which were up considerably for the year from 280 to 445, for a 59 per cent increase.
The other categories saw declines as follows: person offences fell from 805 to 676; break and enter to businesses fell from 45 to 31; break and enter to residences fell from 114 to 106; property offences fell from 2,745 to 2,223; criminal code offences fell from 1,692 to 1,647; drug offences fell from 250 to 149; motor vehicle collisions fell from 292 to 245; provincial traffic offences fell from 2,630 to 1,503; impaired operation of a motor vehicle fell from 332 to 285; and municipal bylaws fell from 176 to 160.
Calls for assistance were up for the year from 579 to 673, while false alarms fell from 913 to 779.
Numbers for December alone saw a decline in overall calls for service to 727, down from 810 in December 2013.
However, there were increases in a number of areas for the month with property crimes up from 121 to 136, criminal code offences up from 83 to 127, provincial traffic offences up from 70 to 84 and impaired operation of a motor vehicle up from 23 to 38.
In addition, fourth-quarter crime statistics for the past three years were presented and they showed crime decreases in every category compared to the situation two years ago.
The only increase was in the category of “other criminal code offences,” which went up from 316 to 355, but that was still down from the 383 reported two years earlier.
Person offences were at 149 compared to 215; property offences at 536 compared to 559; drug offences at 28 compared to 49; and criminal code traffic down to 88 from 124, all from two years earlier.
The statistical data was compiled by the RCMP in Regina and was presented by Sgt. Neil Tremblay to North Battleford’s planning committee Monday.
Tremblay said they were involved in a number of different initiatives including the Hub.
“I think we are starting to see some benefit there,” he said.
As well, Tremblay pointed to the Prolific Offender Management Program where people who are high-risk offenders are identified and enhanced supervision is provided.
