The latest RCMP Quarterly Report for the Town of Battleford had some increases in the past three months, but stayed largely steady for the past year. (File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

Up & down

Battleford crime numbers mostly steady; assaults, vehicle thefts remain issues

Jan 26, 2022 | 3:00 PM

While some criminal activities are on the rise in the Battlefords region, the numbers for the Town of Battleford are largely positive.

There were smaller increases than in North Battleford and surrounding area for almost every category that had higher rates and there were less calls for service in Battleford from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 than during the same period in 2020.

The Battlefords RCMP 2021 Fourth Quarter Report saw a five-year rise in a few categories for the town, including a 14 per cent increase in persons offences over five years, such as firearms charges and assaults. The year-over-year numbers for the last three months were more favourable, with only a seven per cent increase of persons cases and a nine per cent reduction in property offences.

Property offences have still risen three per cent over the five-year period, with 1,670 files in the Battlefords in 2021 compared to 1,619 in 2020 and 1,371 in 2019.

An area where there was significant drop is traffic-related incidents, including a more than 86 per cent reduction in criminal code traffic violations during the final three months of the year. Mayor Ames Leslie said they’ve had discussions with the detachment about this area, as well as looking at practices done in places like Saskatoon.

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“We obviously don’t want the RCMP to lose sight of traffic control and speeders in the community,” he said.

An area that’s been a persistent issue for the RCMP is theft of motor vehicles, which has risen in Battleford over the last five years by 72 per cent (with a small decrease in the latest fourth quarter compared to 2020).

S/Sgt. Jason Teniuk told town council that the community as a whole loses around 10-17 vehicles a week, which has been frustrating for the detachment, as well as the owners of those automobiles.

“It’s ridiculous, it drives me insane,” he said. “Those vehicles are used in other crimes and have us chasing them around the community.”

Teniuk noted that in some cases this can’t be prevented, but added that new vehicles are hard to hotwire. When it isn’t an older model, the majority of cases consist of drivers leaving their cars and trucks unlocked and running outside, a risk the RCMP continue to warn motorists of.

“I do see a trend towards stealing older vehicles, where the full steering column apart, but there’s not many like that,” he said. “Otherwise, its doors unlocked while the car is running, even for a minute or two.”

Teniuk also said that he was proud of the work by the Police and Crisis Team (PACT), which was recognized by the province and has other Saskatchewan detachments coming to the Battlefords for training. The PACT team consists of mental health professionals assisting officers with initial responses to calls for service involving mental health and addictions issues.

“Saskatoon, Regina, Estevan, they all have PACT teams, so we’re obviously doing something right,” Teniuk said.

A list of RCMP statistics for the Town of Battleford is available below.

Per the Battlefords RCMP: the above statistics are taken from the RCMP records management system and are accurate as of the day they are collected. (Battlefords RCMP)

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW