ESTEVAN - The Estevan Police Service saw its call volumes decline by 24 per cent in the first month of 2025.
According to data released at the Feb. 12 meeting of the Estevan board of police commissioners, the EPS had 431 calls for service in January, well below the 567 calls it received for the first month of 2024.
Most of the crime categories were also down. Crimes against the person stood at 11 for January, compared to 18 for the same month last year. There were five assaults in January (compared to 16 the previous year), along with three assaults causing bodily harm and three sexual crimes. There weren't any assaults causing bodily harm in the first month of 2024.
There were 17 crimes against property in January, led by 11 thefts under $5,000, four mischief/willful damage complaints and two thefts of a motor vehicle. There were 32 crimes against property to start 2024.
There was one incident under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) for trafficking, compared to none to start 2024. And there were five Criminal Code traffic violations, with three for impaired/exceed-related offences and two for impairment by dug. Eleven Criminal Code driving infractions were handled to start 2024.
The five-year average is 544 calls for the first month of the year, with 10.6 crimes against the person, 20.6 crimes against property, eight Criminal Code traffic violations and 4.2 CDSA violations.
When asked by member-at-large Roberta DeRosier how the EPS categorizes unfounded calls, Chief Jamie Blunden said the incidents still initially register as a call for service. Occasionally the EPS has to reclassify an incident; Deputy Police Chief Warren Morrical cited the example of something being listed as a fraud instead of theft under $5,000.
As for the overall crime numbers, Blunden noted the EPS issued fewer tickets for speeding and other infractions.
The EPS also released the fourth-quarter report, which has been posted online to the EPS's website. When asked by Coun. Tom Mauss, who is on the police board, about the number of officers per 100,000 population, Blunden pointed out the funding the city receives for a number of positions.
According to Blunden, the EPS has 25 officers and the 2021 census lists Estevan's population at 10,854. The ratio, according to the report, is 203 officers per 100,000 people – the second-highest ratio in the province. But Blunden says five of those 25 officers are government-funded, and three more funded positions are coming. Blunden said the EPS might start specifying the number of officers that are funded by other agencies.
"We're going to have the ability to have more crimes investigated … and have an additional officer from the drug unit," said Blunden.
Estevan is a safe community, he said, and Blunden said it's due to the effort of the speciality units and the 16 officers who are part of patrols.
