Members of the Estevan Police Service (EPS) have seen a slight increase in the number of infractions they have dealt with this year.
The call volume numbers for the first three months of the year were released at the April 28 meeting of the Estevan board of police commissioners. The numbers for March were also released.
As a point of comparison, the police board members also received the call volume numbers for March 2015, and for the first three months of last year.
The document for the first three months of this year show the police have had 1,908 calls for service and infractions, including traffic tickets. Fifty-five were unfounded.
Among the 1,853 actual calls, 957 were cleared by charge, while 130 were listed as otherwise, for a clearance rate of 58.7 per cent.
Much of the volume is for provincial traffic offences, including 474 tickets for speeding.
EPS members had 1,773 incidents and calls for service in the first three months of 2015. Fifty-seven were unfounded. Out of the 1,716 remaining calls, 767 were cleared by charge, and 97 were classified as otherwise, for a clearance rate of 50.3 per cent.
The number of traffic infractions increased significantly from the first three months of last year. There were 637 violations, including 202 for speeding.
March was a busy month for the EPS, as they had 713 incidents and violations; only 26 of those were unfounded. Police cleared 334 by charge, and 52 were listed as otherwise, for a clearance rate of 56.2 per cent.
In March 2015, they had 674 calls, and 21 were unfounded. The clearance rate for the remaining 653 calls was 44.6 per cent, with 252 cleared by charge and 39 listed as otherwise.
The bylaw enforcement officer’s report for March was also released at the police board meeting. Parking violations once again accounted for the largest percentage of activity, as 61 tickets were issued out of the 151 occurrences. There were also 21 animal calls and 13 unkempt property violations among the remaining 90 occurrences.
