RCMP Insp. Tom Beck gave his second quarter crime report at North Battleford council’s meeting Monday. Numbers show residential break and enters experienced an increase. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Community safety

North Battleford RCMP report shows break and enters up, drug offences down

Jul 16, 2019 | 9:18 AM

While residential break and enters and provincial traffic offences are on the rise in North Battleford, crimes against people and drug offences are down.

RCMP Insp. Tom Beck gave an update on the second quarter period report from April to June during a presentation to North Battleford council Monday.

Beck said after speaking to residents downtown there appears to be a need for more patrols in the core to increase safety, especially for those accessing businesses in the evening.

“His view was that an increased police presence downtown may make people feel safer,” Mayor Ryan Bater said following the meeting.

Beck said in his report the Police and Crisis Team (PACT) has been busy helping people dealing with mental health and addictions crisis issues. The team responded to 90 calls in the second-quarter, which saved officers 180 hours they would otherwise have spent waiting with individuals in need until they received medical assistance.

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The RCMP crime report shows the overall tally for calls for service for the second quarter was up to 3,636, compared to 3,586 last year. The year-to-date count was higher too at 6,352, versus 6,328 in 2018.

There were 69 residential break and enter in the second quarter, compared to 40 over the same time period last year. To date there are 116 reports, versus 70 last year.

Beck said the RCMP has a plan of targeted enforcement to tackle the issue.

He said as a precaution, residents leaving for vacation should always ensure their home is secure first.

“People travel so much in the summer; they are going to the lake and leaving their properties vacant,” Beck said. “I think it’s just important to make sure you have people checking on your residences while you are gone away, and making sure someone is picking up your mail.”

Provincial traffic offences were notably up from April to June, with 712 reports compared to 307 for the same time in 2018. The year-to-date count is also up to 966, versus 531 last year.

Beck attributes the higher numbers to more police patrols catching offenders.

Vehicle collisions were slightly up, at 50 reports for the second quarter of 2019, compared to 47 for the period in 2018. Year-to-date numbers are on par with 2018 at 126.

Impaired driving stats were status quo, with 49 reports each for 2019 and 2018 for the second quarter. The 2019 year-to-date number was 93, just slightly higher than the 90 reports for the same period in 2018.

Property crimes, such as theft or mischief, are on par for the second quarter, at 818 reports in each year. However, the year-to-date tally was down for 2019 at 1,030, a drop by more than 500 compared to the 2018 period tally of 1,562.

Business break and enters were slightly down for the three-month period, at 13 reports for 2019, compared to 14 for the same time in 2018. For the year-to-date count, the tally was higher at 29 reports for 2019, versus 20 for the period last year.

On a positive note, crimes against people, such as assaults or robberies, were down considerably. The second-quarter tally shows 227 reports, a decline compared to 342 for the same time last year. The year-to-date numbers show 470 reports for the current year, a drop from the 620 calls in 2018.

Criminal code offences were also down. There were 503 reports for the second quarter this year, versus 611 for the same time in 2018. Year-to-date numbers were also down, at 922 reports for 2019, compared to 1,021 last year.

Drug offences saw a drop in both categories, with 23 reports for the second quarter, less than half the count of 51 for the period last year. Similarly, the year-to-date numbers showed 47 reports for 2019, compared to 99 in 2018.

Missing people counts for the second quarter were lower at 39 reports, compared to 47 last year. Year to date, the count was also down to 69 reports versus 83 in 2018.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow