MOOSE JAW — Moose Jaw’s acting police chief is pleased that the community’s crime severity index (CSI) rating decreased last year by nearly 12 per cent and says there are several reasons for the downward trend.
The data showed that the City of Moose Jaw had an overall CSI value of 103.87, a drop from 117.75 or a decrease of 11.79 per cent over 2023.
Furthermore, the municipality’s violent CSI value last year was 100.27, a drop from 104.20 or a decrease of 3.77 per cent over 2023.
Also, the city’s non-violent CSI value last year was 106.18, a drop from 124.15 or a decrease of 14.47 per cent over 2023.
“I am encouraged by the reduction for 2024 and that (the data) appear to be continuing to trend down so far in 2025,” Acting Chief Rick Johns said in an email. “There are likely a number of reasons we are seeing for both short-term and long-term downward trends.”
In the short term, the Moose Jaw Police Service has worked to create efficiencies by directing resources and personnel to handle incidents proactively before they escalate into criminal behaviour, he continued. In the long term, the agency has focused on directing resources to support investigations into crimes that offenders have already committed.
Johns noted that this extra support of investigations includes enhancing file reviews and oversight, and increasing areas of focus by having a pre-existing officer act as a crime analyst.
“Operationally, a great deal of credit goes to our police officers, communications officers and support staff that work hard every day to make our city safe,” he added.
The acting police chief acknowledged that Moose Jaw faces similar challenges — such as homelessness, drugs and vagrants — as other Canadian cities. However, he pointed out that the statistics show that the community “is becoming increasingly safe” when looking at short- and long-term trends.
Continuing, he said these downward-focused trends are because of the dedication of police officers, who continually engage with residents dealing with addiction, homelessness or a crisis. Based on the situation, officers direct people to appropriate resources and “apply the law when circumstances dictate.”
“… the hard work and dedication of our officers cannot be emphasized enough as the major contributing factor to our effectiveness in addressing social issues and crime,” Johns added.
