Battlefords RCMP Insp. Jesse Gilbert, centre, with Mayor Ames Leslie, right, and Coun. Shelley Boutin-Gervais, left, at Town of Battleford's council meeting Monday. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

RCMP crime report

RCMP’s latest crime stats show increase for Town of Battleford

Feb 7, 2023 | 8:47 AM

The Town of Battleford is seeing an increase in a number of categories in its latest RCMP crime report.

Battlefords RCMP Inspector Jesse Gilbert visited town council Monday to present the quarterly report, covering October to December 2022 for the municipality.

Total reports overall were up, coming in at 364, compared to 274 for the same time the prior year for the quarter period. The five-year average was up by 21 per cent.

Property offences saw a 26 per cent increase with 96 reports for the quarter period in 2022, up from 76 for the same time in 2021.

Crimes against persons were up by 69 per cent with 49 reports for the last quarter in 2022, compared to 29 for the prior year period.

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Criminal code traffic offences, such as impaired driving-related cases, were up with 11 reports for the period in 2022, versus only two for the same time the year prior.

Gilbert said the higher numbers might reflect increased police work in catching offenders.

“It means we’ve been more proactive in enforcement,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that there are more complaints regarding impaired driving.”

One of the big areas police focused on as a priority was dealing with drug-related offences.

In the last quarter, numbers in this category saw a decrease as well as a decline in the five-year average.

“We put a major effort into drug enforcement over the last quarter,” Gilbert said.

The RCMP have also been conducting more check stops to be proactive.

Mayor Ames Leslie said more police presence has been seen in the community of late. He noted that in years past, crime numbers for the town have stayed more neutral, rather than trending upwards. Leslie enquired whether there was a pattern of a new criminal element coming into the area.

Gilbert pointed out police have been dealing with more warrants for arrest in the last couple of months in particular, which might account for some of the increased activity.

There was also some discussion during the meeting about the Battlefords Citizens On Patrol Program (COPP) staying busy.

“We’ve seen a renewed focus on Citizens on Patrol,” Leslie said, adding that he has recently joined the volunteer group that focuses on helping with crime prevention.

Gilbert echoed Leslie’s remarks about the COPP gaining more interest in the community.

“It’s been very positive,” he said. “We’ve had good engagement.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow