Despite two armed robberies in Battleford recently, the staff sergeant in charge of policing in the town says there has been no particular increase in crime there.
Speaking to Battleford town council Monday evening, S/Sgt. Howard Nodwell said crimes such as the incidents at the Petrocan and, more recently, the Queen's Hotel, are not a common occurrence in a community like Battleford.
"When these things do happen they seem to happen in trends and by a very small number of individuals," said Nodwell during his quarterly RCMP report to the town, "and once that's addressed things get back to normal."
In general, said Nodwell, the crime rate seems on par with other years.
Early into the RCMP report, Councillor Shelley Boutin-Gervais asked about the incidence of violent crime in the larger community including North Battleford.
Nodwell said recent violent incidents have drawn attention and caused concern among the public, but the actual crime rate has not seen a general increase.
However, he noted those incidents have taken a lot of the RCMP's attention and investigation.
"It's receiving a significant amount of attention" not only by detachment personnel but also the general investigation section and other services such as the police dog section that work out of the Battlefords, said Nodwell.
"So all hands are on deck, so to speak," said Mayor Derek Mahon. "It's good to hear that."
Mahon approved of Nodwell's suggestion that Battleford could hold a town hall meeting similar to the one held recently in North Battleford if council wished, and it would be attended by members of the rural detachment that serves Battleford.
The city detachment, which works out of the same building as the rural detachment, was part of a public meeting on safety last month during which it was clear crime in North Battleford had residents worried.
"Initially there's some frustration that comes out of these meetings, but that's anticipated," said Nodwell. "What we typically do after that is to work through that to diffuse and basically sort out the facts from fiction and what's actually going on. In cases there is misconception that there's a threat to public safety and things are really changing and going downhill, and that may not be the case, and then we can lead into some other things. What people can do to contribute, because obviously its not just a policing it's an issue that effects the whole community."
Nodwell said they could also have RCMP Community Policing Services, based out of Regina, come up and do a presentation to the community about programs available for community engagement.
During his report to council, Nodwell also confirmed to the mayor that a new officer will be coming to the Battlefords RCMP, with the rank of inspector.
Nodwell said a number of years there was an officer in charge of the Battlefords, then they went with a different model. (As of August this year, there were 380 inspector's positions across Canada. Inspectors and the ranks upward are considered "officer" rank.)
Nodwell said there has been discussion about returning the Battlefords to what he referred to as an "officer's detachment," because of its size.
"That decision has been made and there is going to be an officer arriving from Regina pending his home sale."
Mahon also asked how the change in detachment jurisdiction has been going. In May, policing responsibilities for the town was moved from the city detachment to the rural detachment following changes in the provincial policing agreement.
"It has worked out quite well," Nodwell said. "The transition has been fairly smooth."
He said there has been positive feedback from the public. He noted during the recent event of an escapee's whereabouts being unknown, the RCMP's presence in the community and local schools "got very good feedback."
As for delivery services, said Nodwell, there have been no issues.
Derek confirmed he had received no negative comments, except over traffic enforcement.
"Those people aren't put out there by the mayor," joked Mahon.
"I think when those numbers are higher both our offices are getting more calls," said Nodwell.
Mahon said it came up at the North Battleford public safety meeting that there are times when it looks like there's eight to 10 officers just focusing on traffic. Comments were made that they should be working on the crime rate instead.
"My understanding is that those folks are brought in," said Mahon. "They are the unit that moves around the province. They are not taking away from the policing of the day."
Nodwell said, "Absolutely, and there is a designated traffic services unit that is based out of the Battlefords detachment."
He noted, "Those officers have no policing responsibilities in the city of North Battleford or the town of Battleford. They are designated just to be doing traffic initiatives. So if you see a half dozen officers out and they are just doing that all day there is a 95 per cent chance they are a designated traffic unit."
Nodwell attributed specific traffic initiatives with a slight decrease in overall crime stats from last year.
"One area is quite a bit lower, and that is provincial traffic offences."
He also said the change of the speed limit on Highway 4 through Battleford probably had an impact.
But, he noted, they might see a quarter down the road when that is reversed, depending on traffic initiatives.
While discussing traffic, Mahon took the opportunity to thank the RCMP for their part in dealing with the recent crash on the Highway 16 overpass during which traffic was diverted for several hours.
He also thanked the Battleford Fire Department and members of the community who assisted, noting GLM Tanks supplied the use of a crane.
