BATTLEFORD - The Town of Battleford is experiencing a drop in violent crime in the latest RCMP crime report.
Battlefords RCMP Insp. Ryan How presented the report for the October to December 2024 period for the town at the Feb. 18, 2025 council meeting.
Total calls for service saw a decline of nine per cent for the period, with 252 calls for the fourth quarter in 2024 compared to 278 calls for the same time in 2023. Looking at the five-year period, the year 2024 saw a 21 per cent drop in total calls.
"I think the most obvious stat is the decrease in violent crime," How said. "It's very nice to see..."
"Quite clearly I believe it's our Gang Task Force and crime reduction team [that is a factor in the reduction]. In my previous role as a SERT [Saskatchewan Enforcement Response Team] manager, we were seeing numbers consistent with this in the areas where we had deployed our Crime Reduction Teams full-time, specifically in Meadow Lake and La Ronge, a consistent 10 per cent decrease in violent crime throughout."
How said the way these teams operate is they are "surgical and precise."
"They are able to focus on the gang violence, and the known violent prolific offenders, and suppress them, which allows the detachment to take over and respond to calls, and increase visibility and return to normal detachment operations...," he said. "This is a consistent trend we are seeing across the province. We're thankful to the SERT program. It's a great partnership between detachments in our Crime Reduction Teams."
How added that he takes a cautious approach when assessing the statistics in the report.
"I'm very careful with stats...," he said. "My respectful recommendation to council is that we move beyond simple statistics as a measure of success, and we look at initiative-based policing. It encompasses the statistics, but it also allows the elected officials to have that input into what specific initiatives they want the RCMP to do - whether it's traffic initiatives or just high visibility, or dealing with certain residents that are a problem in the area."
How said an example is counting speeding tickets.
"If we go out and do a blitz and we write a bunch of tickets, is that showing increased compliance or decreased compliance? It really isn't giving a true picture," he said. "Whereas if we are going out there and doing initiatives time after time, and doing some education along with it and we are measuring that, over time it will show success. A year is plenty of time to have measurements here. That would be my recommendation, and my view on statistics."
He noted there is some decrease in the property crime in the report.
"I caution there as well, I'm always worried about the lack of reporting, which shows a false drop in crime...," How said. "Property crime, drug offences, traffic offences even, if there is a drop there I'm always cautious about that, just because I know the public may not want to call the police with certain things."
Mayor Ames Leslie noted it feels as though there is more serious crime happening of late.
How mentioned that there is a perception that higher-end violent crime is random, while actually it is "targeted on those who are living a high-risk lifestyle."
"I think we need to get that message out there that the vast majority of citizens here are safe," he said. "This is a safe community to live in. For those who choose to live a high-risk lifestyle, the risks are elevated exponentially. The trends we are seeing, thanks again to our GTF [Gang Task Force] and our SERT friends, the gang violence, the retaliation, and the shootings, we're seeing that decrease. But it's not decreasing the robberies, the violence on each other...They are still violent. They are still looking for [drugs], and that kind of stuff. The violence is still there, but it's not random, and it's within that high-risk lifestyle."
The statistics show that persons crime is down by 19 per cent in the fourth quarter in 2024.
Vehicle thefts have nudged up slightly, with six reports for the Oct. to Dec. 2024 period compared to five reports for the same time in 2023.
Impaired driving reports increased to five reports, compared to two for the same time in the 2023 period.
Fraud reports increased for the period in 2024, with five reports, compared to two reports for the period in 2023.
Following the meeting, Leslie said it's good to see the overall total numbers going down for the period.
"I think at this time of year, the numbers come down," he said. "I think the weather has been cold, and as we discussed [in the meeting] I think there is less a criminal element moving freely around when the weather is like this."
Leslie also recognized the efforts of the Gang Task Force and the SERT teams work, and having some success removing some crime elements, as well as repetitive crime elements from the community and the region.
"It's starting to show it," he said. "Insp. How spoke to that there are very much focused criminals in our community. It's not random crime. They are very much starting to focus on those same individuals who are adding to the crime element in our community, and they are starting to have success. I think that is contributing to the numbers coming down."
The town recently had a meeting with the RCMP and the new Saskatchewan Marshals Service coming to the area.
Leslie previously said he was concerned the Marshals Service might take from the RCMP members, but his worries were alleviated by the meeting.
"[The RCMP and Marshals Service] very much established a working relationship - that they are going to work together, not against each other," he said. "So, that gave me the confidence of the Marshals Service coming into the region as well, and aiding and supporting the RCMP, and not taking away from what the RCMP are trying to do. I walked out of that meeting with the highest level of confidence that these two law enforcement agencies are going to be a benefit for our community."
