WEYBURN – Weyburn overall is a very safe community, said Weyburn Police Chief Jamie Blunden, but there are some issues being dealt with by the city police, such as overdoses and petty property crimes arising from drug use.
This was part of the presentation he made to the Weyburn Rotary Club by zoom on Thursday, including a comparison of the past year’s crime statistics with last year and the past six years.
In looking at the past year’s crime numbers, he noted that crimes against property has dropped by 37 per cent, from 407 at the end of 2020 to 256 at the end of 2021.
Amongst the offences investigated, the only category that went up was for arson, and that was due to one individual being charged with four arsons.
“Hopefully we nipped that in the bud for the year that’s in front of us,” said Chief Blunden.
Crimes against persons went up from 120 to 134 at the end of 2021, but one of the factors there was one individual charged with multiple sexual assaults, which skewed the numbers overall. The person had between five to 10 victims of assault, he noted.
Overall, calls for service went down by 11 per cent for the year, with 4,838 calls recorded at the end of December of 2021, down from 5,446 at the end of 2020.
When figuring out what is behind some of the changes in the crime stats, the chief said they look at it in the context of the business plan for the Weyburn Police Service which has the end-goal of making Weyburn a safer community.
The plan includes the drug strategy, having a high-visibility presence in the community, and a high-visibility traffic strategy.
The positive impact on reducing crimes and calls for service is more apparent in a comparison of the last six years, said Chief Blunden. “It’s more reflective and a better indication of where we’re at as a police service.”
In the six-year comparison, he said, “You can tell we’ve flat-lined a bit compared to other years where it’s been up and down. This tells me we’re doing our job when it comes to property crimes. For crimes against persons, we are somewhat above the line but we’ve flat-lined a bit. I’m really happy with where we’re at as a community.”
When the specific types of crimes are broken down, such as for thefts under $5,000 or assaults, they look at what is behind those numbers and direct the officers’ efforts towards addressing the issue.
The biggest priority right now in regard to drug offences is the use of Fentanyl, as there continue to be overdoses occurring, including one within the last week, said the chief.
He noted the drug strategy for WPS includes enforcement on those who are dealing the drugs, and awareness and education of the public, particularly of youth, about drugs and their dangers.
One way the police force is dealing with drugs is acquiring a drug dog, Oakley, who along with handler Const. Maralee McSherry, will be going for eight weeks of training in March and April.
“When she comes back she’ll be part of our drug strategy. She will also be part of awareness and education as we hope to have her going into the schools and talking to kids,” he said.
The other emphasis will be on helping people with program options for getting off of drugs.
Asked if the slowdown in the oilpatch has had any impact in the community crime-wise, Chief Blunden said during the boom times, cocaine was the drug of choice here, and while it’s still prevalent, Fentanyl is now the main drug of concern in Weyburn, and this has had an effect in petty property crimes.
“Those are the ones stealing block heater cords, cutting them off and selling them in a bundle, or stealing lawn mowers from the back shed, or bicycles. Fentanyl is still killing individuals here,” he said, adding people who are doing these thefts “are just looking for a couple of hits of Fentanyl.”
As far ages of those who have been overdosing, he noted it ranges from high school age up to those in their mid to late 40s.
One of the factors is that the drug includes carfentanyl, which is so deadly that a grain of salt of carfentanyl is potent enough to kill a person if they touch it with their finger.
Asked about the use of Narcan in cases of overdoses, Chief Blunden notes that every member is carrying two doses of Naloxone, which is a potent version of Narcan that is administered with a nasal spray. Initially, they were provided for the benefit of officers in case they come in contact with the drug containing carfentanyl.
“We usually get there before the EMS. The EMS uses an injectable Naloxone, which is less potent than what we carry. We’re spending money on a medication that isn’t being reimbursed by Sask. Health. For the amount of money we spend on it, I think it’s well worth it. We can go to a scene and we can save a dozen people,” said the chief, adding that sometimes users get their own Naloxone kits and push the envelope, knowing they have the ability to revive someone if they OD on the drug.
Overall, Chief Blunden said he and his wife have found Weyburn to be a very safe community that has been “incredibly welcoming” to them.
