Sgt. Neil Tremblay at this week's council meeting. (Angela Brown/BattlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Vehicle thefts a concern

North Battleford RCMP reporting increase in property crime

Aug 18, 2022 | 5:11 PM

The latest RCMP report is showing an increase in property crime in North Battleford among the top offences.

Sgt. Neil Tremblay presented the second quarterly update during this week’s city council meeting.

For the period from April to June, the report shows Property Offences saw an increase of 17 per cent, with 1,162 reports, compared to 994 for the same time last year. Looking at the past five years since 2018, there was a 43 per cent increase in this type of offence.

Within this category, Break and Enters saw the largest increase, with a 62 per cent jump in reports for the quarterly period.

Tremblay said Break and Enters (B and Es) are a notable problem in North Battleford.

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Over the last year there has been a significant increase in vacant homes being entered, either because someone is squatting there or for another purpose.

“Generally speaking, the vast majority of our residential B and E’s seem to be for the purpose of entering vacant homes, whether they are awaiting sale or they are under renovations” he said. “So that is [an issue] where we are trying to drive home through our media releases… to try and advise people. That awareness can be a help in deterrence.”

Tremblay said if people have a home for sale or under renovation they should take some extra precautions.

Another concern for the RCMP is vehicle thefts. While numbers are showing a downward trend this summer, the problem continues to be issue in North Battleford.

“One of the things we’ve been trying to drive home with the local media is our continuing issue with vehicle thefts,” Tremblay said. “It’s still been an issue last year, and into the winter, and it’s going to continue to be a focus as we go into the fall. I’m concerned about it returning as an issue.”

Tremblay said about 50 per cent of vehicle thefts deal with either keys left in the vehicle, or cases where the vehicle is being left running and unattended, which leaves the vehicle vulnerable to crimes of opportunity.

“That continues to be a major driver of the numbers we’re seeing,” he said. “So we’re trying to do that education campaign to try to address that with the public, so we can make some significant downward trends in that number in particular.”

On a positive note, generally, Tremblay said the RCMP is seeing a downward trend in Persons Crimes, with a 15 per cent decrease since last year.

“That tends to be our more serious criminal offences we investigate when we are dealing with persons offences,” he said.

Tremblay said that it’s always encouraging to see number go down in that category in particular.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW