The building of the Lloydminster RCMP detachment. (Image Credit: File photo/paNOW staff)

By Kenneth Cheung

policing

Lloydminster crime drops as RCMP increase traffic enforcement, police presence

Mar 18, 2026 | 5:05 PM

RCMP say increased traffic enforcement and police visibility are helping drive down crime in Lloydminster, even as some offences rise and the detachment continues to operate below full strength.

Inspector Brian Nicholl told city council overall calls for service fell by about 800 files in 2025 compared with the previous year, while property crime and total Criminal Code offences also declined.

Property crime dropped from 5,510 files in 2024 to 4,443 in 2025, while total Criminal Code files fell from 8,673 to 7,735. Overall calls for service decreased from 18,604 to 17,709.

Nicholl said the changes are tied to a shift in policing strategy rather than broader changes in the community.

“Nothing in Lloyd has changed,” he said. “The only thing that’s changed is our approach to policing.”

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That approach has focused on more proactive work, particularly traffic enforcement, which rose sharply over the same period.

Police recorded 7,117 provincial and traffic-related offences in 2025, up from 5,869 the year before, while traffic-specific offences increased from 3,844 to 4,829.

Nicholl said the added enforcement is aimed at increasing police presence and deterring crime.

“We’re reducing crime by sheer presence of police,” he said.

“When you see a police car, and it could be one police car in a community, and they stopped four people that day, everybody will say, ‘There’s cops everywhere.’”

He pointed to an example where nuisance-related calls dropped to zero during a period when motorcycle officers were deployed for traffic enforcement.

At the same time, some categories saw increases. Crimes against persons rose slightly, from 1,189 files in 2024 to 1,200 in 2025, while drug-related files increased from 194 to 315.

Nicholl said drug investigations are typically the result of proactive policing rather than public complaints.

“Unless it falls on your lap, which is very rare when it comes to drugs and narcotics, those are generally proactive files,” he said.

Mental Health Act files also declined significantly, dropping from 595 in 2024 to 377 in 2025.

Nichol said overall trends must be viewed with caution, noting some offences – particularly retail theft – are often underreported.

“People have always not reported certain [crimes], like when I talked about retail theft, [for] certain businesses, that just an acceptable loss within their company, they don’t call the police,” he said, adding some businesses choose not to pursue police involvement due to the time required for investigations and court.

He also said the reduction in files is likely tied to increased proactive work by officers, including traffic stops and targeted enforcement.

The detachment remains below its authorized strength, with 43 active members out of a complement of 58 positions. Nichol said staffing levels have improved compared with previous years.

“We’ve had more police on the road in the last… six or eight months than we’ve ever had since my time here [four years ago],” he said.

RCMP priorities for the coming year include increasing community presence, reducing crime and maintaining traffic enforcement. He added that while proactive policing has shown results, the detachment must balance new initiatives with available resources.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com