As the City of Estevan continues to grow, so too does the workload of the Estevan Police Service.
Local officers dealt with almost 300 more calls through the first six months of the year than they did during the same period in 2010. According to info provided by the EPS, there were 273 more calls in 2011, an increase that Chief Del Block says caught him by surprise.
"There's increases in most areas, some increases in areas too that are surprising and also welcome," said Block.
In looking at the stats, Block said a couple of areas were cause for concern. Of note was the number of traffic accidents thus far in 2011. Block said there were 65 through the first half of 2010 but that total had more than doubled to 134 this year.
"I don't have an explanation for it," he said. "It's not that there is a lack of enforcement because on provincial traffic offences, there were 746 last year and 1,011 this year. That is a huge increase in enforcement which should have offset (the increase in accidents) but didn't.
"But that concerns me that accidents are up that much and I think we are going to have to place a focus on additional traffic enforcement. Clearly, when there is an increase of over 100 per cent in accidents it tells you there is something missing."
Along with an increase in enforcement, Block said other measures such as lowering the speed limit in residential areas to 40 km/hr should also be looked at. A proposal to drop the speed limit has been brought before council twice in the past couple of years and was defeated on both occasions. It will again be brought before council at their next meeting on Aug. 8.
Block said although the move may not be a popular one he feels it would be a positive step forward for Estevan.
"We have some residential areas in this city - most of the Hillcrest area, Hillside and especially over in Pleasantdale on Thorne Crescent and McCormick Crescent - where 30 kilometres is too fast.
"We have many residential areas in this city where I truly believe it should be 40. Now, people in this city are typically in a rush to go places and absolutely hate delays. I am sure it would be extremely controversial but there comes a time when we have to look for safety, especially the safety of children."
Block also noted the extreme winter Estevan endured may have also played a factor in the increase as roads throughout the city were very icy and in poor condition through the first three months of the year.
There were some positive developments when it came to driving-related offences. There were 62 impaired driving offences compared to 85 last year. That is big news since drunk driving has steadily been on the increase for years in Estevan.
As for other areas, there were some interesting trends in the report.
The number of provincial statutes cases, which deals with such things as the liquor act and mental health act, dropped to 327 from 365 in 2010. Other criminal code offences dropped by 11 and municipal bylaw cases were down by 12.
The department's focus on the city's drug trade led to some huge increases in arrests for trafficking. After laying just nine charges for trafficking in 2010, EPS officers bumped that figure up to 54 in 2011. Possession charges were also up, although not to the same degree, rising from 38 to 40.
Other areas of note:
Crimes against the person - robbery, extortion, harassment and threats, were up by nine. Assaults were also up, rising by 22 cases in 2011.
The cases of theft under $5,000 were down by 13, a figure that was offset somewhat by an increase in thefts over $5,000 which jumped by four.
Mischief cases were down sharply, decreasing from 143 in 2010 to 114 this year. Block credited that drop to an increased focus on that area by EPS officers.
There were nine more break and enters through the first half of the year.
The number of prisoners that the EPS housed in their cells also increased, rising from 276 to 302.
