BATTLEFORD — At Battleford town council's Feb. 6 meeting, Inspector Jesse Gilbert gave council the RCMP’s Q4 report, which shows crime up almost across the board.
Currently, the RCMP is focusing on four categories as they work to enhance policing efforts in the detachment. The four categories include:
- Prolific offenders
- Traffic safety
- Gangs
- Property crime
The RCMP is also focusing on building trust with three initiatives, including engagement with elected officials, community members and schools, with visits and events following COVID-19 restrictions.
“We’ve had good engagement with elected officials; we get out into the community and engage with groups of people,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert believes the RCMP is relatively good in terms of staffing. With some sick, maternity and paternity leave, they are majority operational. They have some hard vacancies, but within the next three to four months, he predicts numbers will stabilize by summer.
But for crime, Battleford’s numbers are on the rise, and residents can expect a stronger police presence int he community in the coming months.
“Battleford has definitely seen an uptick between 2021 and 2022 … I think if you look at the long-term numbers from 2018, there has been a fairly steady climb up,” Gilbert said.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, compared to 2021, calls for service in Battleford increased by 5.3 per cent to 356. Assaults are up 68 per cent. The trafficking or possession of stolen goods is up 175 per cent.
However, false alarms are down 11 per cent, suspicious people, vehicles or property are down 11 per cent, and collisions are down 38 per cent.
Altogether, crime is up 21 per cent.
“This helps us dedicate our resources where they need to be dedicated,” Gilbert said, regarding the crime statistics.
Councillor Judy Pruden noted that according to the report, the RM of Battle River had three times as many calls as the Town of Battleford in Q4, at 983 occurrences.
Inspector Gilbert could not determine if that spike was due to increased vigilance from the RCMP, or a spike in crime, but offered to have RCMP analyists look deeper and return to the council.
“I appreciate this for sure, the time that you’re willing to spend,” Mayor Ames Leslie said, adding, “For additional services, you said there was a CRT team. Do we still have a full K9 unit in town?”
“We still have one … we’ve noticed an impact,” Gilbert said, though he could not share those statistics as they are not his unit.
Gilbert noted that there has been a renewed focus on Citizens on Patrol Program and said that the newly relevant relationship has been very positive.
“We’re hoping to outgrow the detachment completely, and they have to move to the Don Ross Centre.”
Mayor Leslie added that he has recently finished his orientation with COPP, and is excited to be apart of the program. He also noted that changes are coming, even to the level that a newly branded COPP vehicle may soon patrol the streets. COPP members may also have vests and badges for the purposes of identification in the future.
Mayor Leslie then asked Inspector Gilbert if the 9 p.m. curfew has worked, but Gilbert can’t say for sure, saying that,
“...with statistics, you’re sometimes unsure whether it's cause or correlation.”
“I think it was a successful campaign,” Gilbert said, noting that there is usually a significant spike in vehicle thefts when the cold weather comes. In 2022, that spike did not happen, though it could have been other variables.
“I can’t say for sure, but I take it as a win.”
Gilbert acknowledged that statistics are one thing, but the RCMP plans to enhance their reporting and communications over the next few months and years.
Councillor Shelly Boutin-Gervais added,
“Overall, this looks like the stats keep going up. My wish is that they’ll go in the opposite direction, and maybe with the proper staffing, that will happen.”
“I know you work hard, and we’re glad to have you here,” Councillor Alexis Christensen said.
Mayor Ames Lelise noted as Inspector Gilbert finished the RCMP delegation to council, that, “As a community leader, I think we need to celebrate the successes of our law enforcement and our community better … as the CRT team and gang unit has success in the community, I’d like to see bigger splashes of that into our media.
“We’ve taken off $100,000 worth of drugs, 35 weapons, put four people in custody … let’s celebrate those because everyone knows crime town is led by a lot of these initiatives. And the more we can help the successes of our men and women in uniform, making our community safer, the better.
“No one wants to celebrate crime, but there must be a positive somewhere.”
