Crime has been a hot topic of conversation in the Battlefords ever since the city of North Battleford topped the Statistics Canada Crime Severity index for the fourth year in a row earlier this summer.
Add to that recent shootings and other mayhem, people are stopping me on the street asking me what's going on. I have to be honest with them. I have no idea.
It is interesting to note that in other RCMP jurisdictions in the province media relations is considered part of the job. If someone steals gas from a farm near Gull Lake, that information is broadcast across the province through the RCMP email media service. The same goes for cases of break and enter, robbery and other mayhem. The newsroom email pings with these missives constantly throughout any given day. But those from the Battlefords RCMP are few and far between.
In our newsroom we have a rather tasteless saying - "In the Battlefords a stabbing isn't worth notifying the public about, unless someone actually dies."
Harsh, but true.
We no longer receive even Crime Stoppers reports from the RCMP. This quick rundown of recent crime and a list of individuals the police are trying to round up wasn't an ideal snapshot of crime in the community, but it was at least something.
Granted, when we are advised of an incident we are provided with a media contact. After frustrated attempts to elicit a call back from those individuals named in the release, we admit to abdication. We vow to get back to making the effort, however.
And there is absolutely no point in pursuing a tip from the public. Attempts to follow up on first person accounts of an underage youth stealing and rolling a van in Battleford recently, leaving a 10-year-old passenger in the vehicle while fleeing the scene, were spurned.
Here's a couple of recent examples of how RCMP have worked with the media in other areas of the province when trouble happens.
A train derailed Wednesday near Landis, with concerns about a subsequent fire and uncertainty about cargo causing the closure of the school in that community.
Within a couple hours of the first notification, this message came in an update email.
"Unity RCMP members have cleared the scene of the derailment and CN Police are continuing their investigation. Sgt. Rusk will be available for media interviews at the Unity RCMP Detachment at 11:30 a.m."
In the case of a recent attempted murder in Warman in which a 13-year-old girl was seriously injured, the Warman RCMP sent this advisory the day after the incident: "Sgt. Warren Gherasim will be available for media interviews at the RCMP Detachment in Warman, 103 - 6th Avenue South at 1 p.m."
The Battlefords RCMP have released details about recent shootings, after they happen, but that is all we get. An update on the condition of the 20-year-old shot in the head Sept. 16 was released Sept. 25, but it ended with "North Battleford RCMP are continuing their investigation."
That's comforting to know, but it would be equally comforting for some real facts relating to the sources of this violence to be passed on to the public.
While acknowledging the RCMP is essentially a military operation and answer to the edicts of F Division command in Regina, the wages of the officers here are paid for by the taxpayers in the community.
While regular reports to city and town councils can be defended as a source of accountability, those paying the RCMP's wages deserve more than just numbers. They deserve some facts about the roots of recent violence in the community, so they can protect themselves, and get behind initiatives to prevent future violence.
A few facts might also save the community from the embarrassing situation of having everyone embracing a social media rumour about random shootings. Without anything else to rely on, citizens are all too willing to believe anything.
