ESTEVAN - There was a slight increase in calls for the Estevan Police Service (EPS) in August.
The number of calls for service for Estevan police last month was 1,044, up from 837 in August a year earlier. On the year to date basis, the EPS has also seen an increase in activity.
According to data released at the Sept. 9 meeting of the Estevan board of police commissioners, the EPS had 6,383 calls for service and infractions through Aug. 31, an increase of six per cent from the first eight months of 2020.
Acting Chief Warren Morrical noted that they had “a relatively uneventful month in August, especially in terms of crimes against the person.”
The EPS had four crimes against the person in August, down from 14 the previous year. All four crimes against the person were assaults.
Twenty-three crimes against property were reported in August, compared to 43 the previous year. There were five residential break and enters, one theft of motor vehicle, nine thefts under $5,000 and eight mischief-willful damage incidents. In two cases of break and enters, the individuals breaking into the residence were known to property owners.
The vehicle was also taken by someone known to the victim.
No charges were laid for the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. But two charges were laid under the Cannabis Act, one for sale and one for production.
And there were 11 Criminal Code Traffic violations, with nine for impaired driving/exceeding-related charges and two dangerous driving and other violations. Morrical explained that one of the last two charges was associated with an impaired driving case, and in the second situation, an individual was making donuts at a parking lot and based on the total circumstances of the event, such as location and the presence of children, it was considered dangerous driving.
As for the crime statistics for the first eight months of the year, the EPS has had 72 crimes against the person. The bulk of the crimes against the person this year were assaults (49), sexual crimes (16) and assaults causing bodily harm (five). One of the incidents was a murder, and one was a robbery.
The EPS has handled 177 crimes against property, with 76 thefts under $5,000, 74 mischief-willful damage complaints and 15 residential break and enters accounting for the bulk of the activity.
There were 25 charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in the first eight months of the year, with 18 for possession, six for trafficking and one for production.
And there were 82 Criminal Code traffic violation charges, with 59 for impaired/exceeding charges, 14 for impairment by drugs and nine for dangerous driving and others.
The report for bylaw enforcement officers Monica Prentice and Josie Palmer showed that there were 104 monthly occurrences last month, bringing the total for the year to 1,136.
The majority of August’s activities were unkempt properties at 68. There were also 12 animal calls and 15 parking violations.
So far this year, unkempt properties (614) account for most of the activity. Other highlights include 127 animal calls and 187 parking violations.
