ESTEVAN — The Estevan Police Service (EPS) saw an increase in call volumes in 2023 in comparison to 2022, but there was a slight decrease when compared to the five-year average.
According to numbers supplied by the EPS, the department had 7,964 total calls for service last year, which is up 20.7 per cent from the 6,596 they had in 2022, but still 1.3 per cent below the five-year average of 8,071 occurrences.
Estevan Police Chief Rich Lowen stressed that Estevan remains a safe city.
"Overall, Estevan is a very safe city. You have to be careful and not look at only one or two percentage indicators. When you have lower numbers, a small change can look like a big percentage increase, but it has to be looked at as a whole with all the violations," Lowen said.
"The increase in calls for service put us consistent with pre-pandemic levels."
The total includes Criminal Code violations, traffic infractions and a variety of calls that the EPS receives.
In terms of Criminal Code violations, the EPS responded to 152 crimes against the person, up from 146 the previous year; 403 crimes against property, an increase from 351; and 156 Criminal Code Traffic violations, up from 109 in 2022.
Twenty-eight charges were laid under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), slightly down from 32 the previous year.
Assaults accounted for the bulk of the crimes against people at 109, followed by 31 sexual crimes, up 41 per cent from 22 the previous year, and 10 assaults causing bodily harm.
Last year also saw one murder and an attempted murder.
Crimes against property included 196 thefts under $5,000, 131 mischief/willful damage complaints, 47 break and enters to a residence, which is a 52 per cent increase from 31 in 2022, and 14 thefts of a motor vehicle. There also were three business break and enters, down 67 per cent from nine a year earlier, and one categorized as other, as well as two arsons and nine thefts over $5,000, an 80 per cent increase from five in 2022.
Criminal Code traffic violations included 119 impaired driving/exceeding .08 charges, a 45 per cent increase from 82 such charges laid in 2022, as well as 22 impaired by drug charges and 15 dangerous driving/other charges, up from 10 in 2022.
"In 2024, we hope to create greater awareness about impaired driving offences as the numbers across Saskatchewan appear to be on the rise. We will be doing this in conjunction with SGI campaigns to raise awareness, along with targeted enforcement. Our fourth quarter report will be completed in early February on some of the enforcement indicators that we measured in 2023," Lowen noted.
CDSA charges included 15 for trafficking, a 35 per cent decrease from 23 in 2022, and 13 for possession, a 44 per cent increase from nine the previous year.
When compared to the five-year average, there was a 14.6 per cent increase in crimes against person. Crimes against property went up by 20.2 per cent in 2023, Criminal Code traffic violations jumped by 20.7 per cent, and CDSA violations were down by 19.5 per cent.
