Regina sees a rise in crime this month, compared to April 2022
The Regina Police Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, with monthly crime statistics per district being at the forefront.
According to police, crime rates are on the rise in Regina from April of last year, which can be seen across the city.
Though the central district has significantly less people than the north and south areas, they all averaged around the same number of reports.
“There’s a magnification of some of the social issues our city faces in the central division and we know there is a direct correlation between social issues like mental health, addictions, those types of things, and police calls for service,” said Regina Police Chief Evan Bray.
“So knowing that that’s concentrated in the central part of the city in the central district really equates to why we experience so much in that regard in that area.”
These numbers are based upon the calls Regina Police Service (RPS) receive in regards to incidents in any given area, ranging from every area of crime.
The north, south, and central districts all reported a rise in crimes against the person by 15.9 per cent in April 2023 vs April 2022.
In addition, crimes against property were up 12.4 per cent with both resulting in a combined year-to-date increase of 13.1 per cent versus 2022.
There were 395 more reports of property crime than in 2022; 224 more reports of theft under $5,000 and 213 more reports of mischief and wilful damage, which saw a 42.7 per cent increase from last year.
Luckily, there was a decrease in auto thefts, which was down 6.3 per cent.
However, as the weather gets warmer, police warn residents to take extra precautions, like ensuring garages are closed, or looking out for neighbours houses when they are away.
Bray said that the implementation of the aerial support unit is significant in the success of the RPS.
“The plane has been an outstanding addition to our police service; it’s really given us an efficiency on how we're able to handle in progress crimes.”
He added that in progress calls have seen 100 per cent success in arrests when the plane is in the air because the ground units can back off while the plane is still tracking the person.
“It’s been very successful but it’s also saved our ground units hours and hours of investigative follow up that normally we would have to do, but don’t because the plane is able to identify the person and we’re able to make an arrest that same day, usually within minutes of the incident happening.”
According to the data, since Jan. 1 2023, the unit has recovered 16 stolen vehicles, made 121 arrests, and laid 262 charges.
It has also saved 56 trips for the ground unit.
As for traffic ticketing, specifically distracted driving, the addition of the motorcycles has given RPS a significant increase. Bray attributes that to the ability for motorcycles to weave in and out of traffic in order to catch up with perpetrators as well as them being less discernible.
“They have a good vantage point to see in the windows of vehicles […] and I think people don’t see motorcycles in a rear-view mirror and think of them as being police.”
“When people see a police car, I guarantee when you see a police car, you put your phone down.”
So far this year, there have been 5,088 tickets issued, 462 of those cell phone charges and warnings.
In 2022, there were less than half of those to date.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.