MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM — While crimes against people and property declined year-over-year in February, police dealt with nearly 300-per-cent more lead-footed motorists who sped through school zones.
The Moose Jaw Police Service presented February’s crime statistics during the March 13 Board of Police Commissioners’ meeting.
The data showed that the automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras captured 1,948 motorists last month in the two school zones where that technology is located, compared to 507 speeders in February 2023. This represented an increase of 284.2 per cent.
The violation numbers for the ASE cameras are “extreme” and are not declining even with signage in place announcing their presence, Chief Rick Bourassa said.
While in-town cameras caught 969 total motorists in 2023, the highway cameras caught 30,776 total motorists — or 31 times more people.
There have been no fatalities on the Trans-Canada since the cameras were introduced, while only one major collision has occurred at Ninth Avenue Northwest within the past six years, the chief continued. Therefore, the cameras are fulfilling the goal of reducing fatalities and collisions.
While the highway cameras experienced technical glitches in 2022 and the number of speeders caught was slightly lower — at 29,015 — the numbers continue to stay consistently high nevertheless, Bourassa said, adding police will continue to monitor this data.
Data from SGI shows the ASE cameras on Highway 1 caught 30,059 lead-footed drivers in 2021.
Crime data
From 2023 to 2024, crimes against people declined by 7.2 per cent and crimes against property declined by 34.5 per cent, the police report showed.
It’s not possible to identify criminal trends yet because this data is based on the first two months of 2024, said Bourassa. The agency will have a better picture of longer-term trends once Statistics Canada releases its data in July.
“However, having said all that, what we’re seeing are numbers that are encouraging to us,” he stated.
Crimes against the person
Crimes against the person data from February 2024 and 2023 show:
- Homicide: 0 / 0
- Attempted murder: 1 / 0
- Assaults (sexual, common, with a weapon/cause bodily harm, aggravated, against police): 59 / 60
- Robbery: 3 / 0
- Total: 77 / 83
Of note, sexual assaults increased to 16 incidents from eight.
Crimes against property
Crimes against property data from February 2024 and 2023 show:
- Break-ins (business, residence, other): 47 / 36
- Theft of vehicles: 13 / 8
- Theft over $5,000: 5/ 8
- Theft under $5,000: 91 / 162
- Arson: 0 / 0
- Mischief under $5,000: 31 / 50
- Total: 234 / 357
Of note, other break-ins increased to 18 incidents from nine.
Other incidents
One category where police have seen a “significant increase” in offences over the past few years is in failing to comply with court orders, said Bourassa. Also, while calls for service decreased slightly year-over-year, they still held “relatively steady,” considering the agency has seen major increases over the past several years.
The data for other incidents from February 2024 and 2023 show:
- Impaired driving: 13 / 16
- Failing to comply with court orders: 136 / 77
- Threats: 5 / 8
- Domestic disputes: 10 / 9
- Provincial liquor infractions: 10 / 19
- Vehicle collisions over $1,000: 58 / 42
- Summary offence tickets: 361 / 308
- Automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras: 1,948 / 507; a 284.2-per-cent increase
- Drugs (cocaine, marijuana, meth, other): 6 / 5
- Calls for service: 2,855 / 2,895
Weather a factor?
During a media scrum afterward, Bourassa said he was unsure whether the poor weather in February contributed to the decline in crimes against people and property, noting criminologists have been studying that theory for years.
“And there really isn’t a correlation there. Weather isn’t a good predictor of anything. But when it’s really, really cold, fewer people are outside,” he continued. “But then again, many crimes against the person happen inside homes.
“I … really don’t know (the answer), and the criminologists really don’t have a good answer on that one, either.”
The next police board meeting is Wednesday, April 10.
