The final crime statistics for 2023 show that, compared to 2022, crimes against people rose 22 per cent, property crimes increased 4.1 per cent and service calls to police jumped 3.5 per cent.
The Moose Jaw Police Service presented the data during the Board of Police Commissioners’ mid-January meeting.
Crimes against the person
Crimes against the person for 2023, 2022 and 2021 show:
- Homicide: 0 / 1 / 0
- Attempted murder: 4 / 3 / 2
- Assaults (sexual, common, with a weapon, aggravated and against police): 410 / 342 / 317; a 19.9-per-cent increase
- Robbery: 10 / 8 / 5
- Total: 577 / 473 / 471; a jump of 22 per cent
Of note, common assaults rose 24 per cent, assaults with a weapon/cause bodily harm jumped 23.8 per cent and assaults on police — 23 incidents from 11 incidents — increased 109.1 per cent.
Crimes against property
Crimes against property for 2023, 2022 and 2021 show:
- Break-ins (business, residence and other): 250 / 286 / 313
- Theft of vehicles: 54 / 67 / 64
- Theft over $5,000: 41 / 21 / 17; a jump of 95.2 per cent
- Theft under $5,000: 1,042 / 900 / 709; a 15.8-per-cent increase
- Arson: 3 / 11 / 35
- Mischief under $5,000: 355 / 335 / 371
- Total: 2,206 / 2,120 / 1,976; a jump of 4.1 per cent
Of note, other break-ins increased to 89 incidents from 67, a jump of 32.8 per cent.
Other incidents
Data for other incidents for 2023, 2022 and 2021 show:
- Impaired driving: 108 / 122 / 128
- Failing to comply with court orders: 463 / 834 / 891
- Threats: 54 / 82 / 57
- Domestic dispute: 65 / 106 / 164
- Provincial liquor infractions: 156 / 153 / 164
- Vehicle collisions over $1,000: 213 / 298 / 243
- Summary offence tickets: 2,145 / 1,360 / 1,734; a jump of 57.7 per cent
- Drugs:
- Cocaine: 9 / 7 / 7
- Marijuana: 6 / 9 / 15
- Methamphetamine: 5 / 11 / 31
- Other CDSA drugs, such as fentanyl: 24 / 11 / 19; an increase of 118.2 per cent
- Total: 44 / 38 / 72; an increase of 15.8 per cent
- Calls for service: 19,813 / 19,143 / 16,048; a jump of 3.5 per cent
Investigating the increases
The MJPS plans to look deeper into the causes for the increase in overall assaults, particularly the common assaults, said Deputy Chief Rick Johns. Meanwhile, although domestic disputes and threats decreased, officers may have laid those charges under the common assault category, creating an “anomaly” in the data.
As for aggravated assaults and attacks with a weapon, police agencies across Saskatchewan and Canada are seeing similar increases in “incivility” among people who use violence to solve problems, he continued.
Meanwhile, officers handled more illicit drug cases last year, with proactive police work contributing to that jump, Johns said. Based on comments from officers, he knows that Moose Jaw is facing more meth and fentanyl problems than the data shows.
“We hope that … criminologists will be able to provide us with some guidance and input going forward … ,” he added.
The criminal investigation unit doubled the number of drug-related projects it pursued last year, even though those projects are labour-intensive, said Supt. Taylor Mickleborough. Yet, the police service increased those projects because it had enough staff in that department.
Specifically, the unit conducted 11 projects in 2023 versus five the year before, which explains why there was an increase in the other CDSA drugs category, he added.
The next police board meeting is Thursday, Feb. 15, at 9 a.m.
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