The Moose Jaw Police Service has seen double-digit percentage increases in crimes against people and property this year, while officers have also responded to more calls than last year.
From January to April, the agency saw increases of 17.6 per cent in crimes against people, 13.2 per cent in crimes against property and 11.5 per cent in service calls compared to last year, recent crime statistics show.
Crimes against people
Data for crimes against people for 2023, 2022 and 2021 showed:
- Homicide: 0 / 1 / 0
- Attempted murder: 1 / 0 / 1
- Assaults (sexual, common, with weapons/cause bodily harm, aggravated, against police): 132 / 115 / 84
- Robbery: 2 / 6 / 0
- Total: 187 / 159 / 118
Crimes against property
Data for crimes against property for 2023, 2022 and 2021 showed:
- Break-ins (business, residence, other): 76 / 68 / 103
- Theft of motor vehicle: 13 / 19 / 16
- Theft over $5,000: 13 / 5 / 6
- Theft under $5,000: 268 / 219 / 171
- Arson: 0 / 5 / 5
- Mischief/property damage: 80 / 72 / 93
- Total: 585 / 517 / 533
The Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) is monitoring the increases in people-related crimes and deploying its resources accordingly, Chief Rick Bourassa said during the recent Board of Police Commissioners’ meeting.
Meanwhile, the “other” category of break-ins has jumped 127.3 per cent year-over-year — 25 incidents this year versus 11 last year — because criminals are breaking into sheds, outbuildings and other structures not attached to homes or businesses and stealing tools, he continued.
Police continue to investigate these incidents and have laid numerous charges against people, Bourassa added.
Other crimes
Data for other crimes for 2023, 2022 and 2021 showed:
- Impaired driving: 30 / 38 / 31
- Failing to comply with court orders: 127 / 309 / 232
- Threats: 15 / 28 / 16
- Domestic disputes: 19 / 24 / 55
- Vehicle collisions over $1,000: 60 / 101 / 70
- Summary offence tickets: 645 / 492 / 684
- Drugs (cocaine, marijuana, meth, other CDSA drugs): 15 / 11 / 21
Also, there have been 5,976 calls for service year-to-date (YTD), compared to 5,362 calls YTD in 2022 and 4,618 queries YTD in 2021.
Moose Jaw is not unique with property crime increases since it’s happening across Canada, said Bourassa.
“With the pandemic, things shifted slightly and there was a real drop in property crimes because people were at home and things weren’t happening,” he continued. “As things began to open up, we saw an increase … .”
There have been 10 incidents YTD for other CDSA drug offences compared to three offences YTD last year, a 233.3-per-cent increase, Bourassa said. While that looks “really, really nasty,” officers’ enforcement activities have driven those numbers.
Supt. Taylor Mickleborough confirmed that police continue to monitor drugs — mainly fentanyl and meth — while the numbers are due to successful investigative projects and police following up on leads.
While there has been an 11.5-per-cent increase in service calls year-over-year, residents should still call the cops so they can help resolve issues before they grow worse, said Bourassa.
When asked whether some calls are for “frivolous” issues, the chief confirmed the MJPS receives those types of queries. However, the in-house communications officers handle those obnoxious calls since most don’t require police.
Those calls are similar to what the mayor’s office receives and what city hall receptionists often handle, said Commissioner Clive Tolley. Sometimes residents just want to be heard and their query doesn’t become an actual service call.
“And the ability of those people (receptionists) to listen, be polite and let these people vent a little bit, I think you’re performing a good mental health community service,” he added, “because sometimes that will be enough to defuse the situation and get the people to relax and calm down … .”
The next Board of Police Commissioners meeting is Thursday, June 8, at 7 p.m. in the Moose Jaw Public Library’s south meeting room. The public is welcome to attend.
