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(file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)
Six-month initiative

Battlefords RCMP Crime Reduction Initiative reporting success targeting criminals

Mar 29, 2023 | 10:30 AM

The Battlefords RCMP Crime Reduction Initiative is already experiencing success in disrupting criminal activity since the new pilot project was launched in January.

The program is comprised of several Saskatchewan RCMP specialized units, including the Saskatchewan Enforcement Response Team (SERT), the Combined Traffic Services Section (CTSS), Indigenous Policing Services, and the Battlefords Gang Task Force.

The program focuses on increasing targeted criminal enforcement, supporting and enhancing relationships with communities of the Battlefords region and First Nations communities, and education/gang intervention.

Saskatchewan RCMP Indigenous Policing Services is leading outreach plans to address education, awareness, and prevention to programs including, but not limited to: the Akameyimok Oskayak Program, Cadet Corps, and Depot youth camps.

Enforcement

Saskatchewan RCMP SERT and the North Battleford RCMP Gang Task Force are primarily responsible for gathering and sharing intelligence to identify people who have a significant negative impact on the safety of the community.

Saskatchewan RCMP CTSS forms a key part of the overt, visible, side of the enforcement strategy.

Here is a report of the six-month crime reduction initiative’s successful executions to date:

January 7: RCMP apprehended a 26-year-old man wanted related to a homicide investigation. (North Battleford RCMP Provincial General Investigation Section and the Saskatchewan RCMP Gang Task Force).

January 19: RCMP arrested a 25-year-old man wanted for being unlawfully at large, (Saskatchewan RCMP Warrant Enforcement and Suppression Team (WEST) ).

February 2: RCMP seized nearly eight kg. of cocaine, over $55,000 in cash, and four illegal firearms from seven locations searched; nine individuals were arrested, (North Battleford Gang Task Force, SERT, F Division General Investigations Section (GIS) ).

February 26: RCMP arrested a man on warrant status for failing to comply with a conditional sentence order. He faced new criminal code charges including, flight from police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle while prohibited, resist/obstruct a police officer and possession of a weapon/ammunition contrary to a court order, (North Battleford RCMP Crime Reduction Team (CRT) and North Battleford RCMP).

March 16: RCMP arrested a male wanted for multiple charges, including: failure to comply with a court order, failure to appear for court, breach of release order, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, possession of prohibited firearm, possession of a firearm in a vehicle and flight from police, (North Battleford CRT).

March 21: Saskatchewan RCMP Combined Traffic Services Section laid 464 traffic-related charges and issued 686 warnings to date.

March 27: The North Battleford RCMP CRT successfully executed over 100 warrants for arrest, laid 95 new criminal code charges (relating to firearms, persons crimes, vehicle, and property-related crimes), and laid 92 provincial charges to date.

Police say the information gathered over the six-month period will help develop the Saskatchewan RCMP Crime Reduction Initiative to potentially be used in all Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdictions.

“A collaborative approach with our specialized units is necessary to help reduce the impact of criminal activity that has caused harm to the Battlefords region for far too long,” Battlefords RCMP Detachment Commander Insp. Jesse Gilbert said in the release. “Our overall goal is to locate and arrest the individuals causing the most harm in our communities and to prevent illicit weapons and drugs that continue to threaten the safety of the people of the Battlefords.”

cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW

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