The RCMP detachment crime statistics for the Town of Battleford for 2020 show numbers holding steady for the town overall, with a few crime categories showing declines.
Sgt. Jason Teniuk made the presentation of the quarterly RCMP report to council Jan. 24. The statistics for the year show total calls for service of 1,256 in 2020, up from 1,244 in 2019, for a difference of听 nine per cent.
A number of crime categories saw declines in Battleford in 2020 compared to 2019. Persons offences are down from 125 to 108, business break and enters down from 11 to four, residential break and enters down from 29 to 19, other break and enters holding steady at five, property offences down from 317 to 276, drug offences up from seven to 11, criminal code offences even at 120, traffic collisions up from 15 to 17, impaired operation of a motor vehicle up from 20 to 32 and provincial traffic offences down from 95 to 83.
For the fourth quarter, calls for service were up from 263 to 278. In that quarter property offences saw a big jump from 46 in 2019 to 68 in 2020. Meanwhile, criminal code offences were down from 30 to 21.
For the entire detachment area, including North Battleford and the surrounding area, calls for service were up from 23,229 to 26,724, a difference of 15 per cent.
Sgt. Teniuk was asked by Councillor David George about the drug statistics being up. Teniuk urged council to look at that number 鈥減ositively.鈥�
鈥淚t means we鈥檙e tapping into some of what鈥檚 going on,鈥� said Teniuk, referring to progress with arrests. They had some good success recently, with Teniuk pointing to a ten-kilogram bust on the highway and another one in an apartment.
鈥淲e鈥檙e taking multiple kilos of cocaine and meth off the streets,鈥� said Teniuk.
Having said that, 鈥渨e鈥檙e touching a very small percentage of what鈥檚 actually going on.鈥� But it鈥檚 a start and there is more to come, he said.
Regarding safety in the community and whether more could be done, Teniuk said, 鈥淚 feel safe, I have to be honest with you. I鈥檝e been in the community a long time.鈥�
He said he would like to say others should feel safe, but there are things that go on in the community that aren鈥檛 good.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a fact, that鈥檚 just a reality of what life brings.鈥�
As for what the town could do specifically to help them out, Sgt. Teniuk responded, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I could ask you for anything right now.鈥�
One thing he is thinking the RCMP could do in the future is present to council on their full resourcing strategy in the Battlefords, including how many members they have and how many are working at a time.
Until they (the RCMP and the town) understand what they have, what their needs are, and where they want to go, Teniuk said it would 鈥渂e very remiss of me to start saying we need this and we need that and we need everything else.鈥�
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