In the coming days, the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics will report on the 2022 Crime Severity Index (CSI). The CSI assesses communities based on violent offences, non-violent offences, and the overall CSI (all offences combined) which factors in both volume and severity of crimes. Historically, the City of North Battleford's CSI assessment is among the highest for a community with a population over 10,000. While the CSI assessment gives one perspective, it does not capture the proactive police enforcement being done in the community. The Battlefords RCMP continues to implement proactive initiatives and collaborate with local leaders and agencies to target both violent and non-violent crimes.
Some include:
Crime Reduction Strategy
In January 2023, a six-month initiative was launched to focus on targeted criminal enforcement and supporting and enhancing relationships with communities. Preliminary results show that the North Battlefords Crime Reduction Team (CRT), Gang Task Force (GTF) team, and Saskatoon Warrant Enforcement and Suppression Team (WEST) arrested 63 individuals, including 10 who were unlawfulling at large, and executed 74 warrants of arrest. Additionally, the Saskatchewan RCMP Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) laid 1,482 charges, conducted 151 inspections, and issued 2,414 warnings during proactive traffic stops. A follow-up media release will be shared after the full data analysis is complete.
March 29, 2023: Battlefords RCMP launches crime reduction initiative to reduce criminal activity in the community
Battlefords RCMP Gang Task Force
The Battlefords RCMP Gang Task Force (GTF) was created in partnership with the City of North Battleford, with the sole mandate of keeping communities safe by tackling serious and gang-related crimes. The ongoing collaboration between the City of North Battleford and Battlefords RCMP Gang Task Force has resulted 140 individuals receiving criminal charges since January 2021.
Combined totals since January 2021 include, but not limited to,:
- 38 stolen vehicles recovered
- 95 restricted firearms and weapons seized
- 33 search warrants executed
- 15kg of cocaine seized
- 40kg of cannabis seized
- 179,200 illegal cigarettes seized
- $169,000 used for proceeds of crime removed from the streets
- $2,300,000 worth of illicit drugs were removed from the streets (including cocaine, cannabis, meth, GHB, etc.)
Prolific Offenders
From April 2022 to March 2023, Battlefords RCMP conducted 474 curfew checks for prolific offenders with the ultimate goal of ensuring individuals are complying with the release and probation conditions outlined by the Saskatchewan Courts. These pro-active efforts by RCMP officers result in approximately 25% of individuals receiving additional criminal charges due to breaching their conditions when curfew checks are completed.
Community Initiatives
In partnership with the City of North Battleford, Community Safety Officers, North Battleford Fire Department, and a number of local businesses, Battlefords RCMP launched three community safety initiatives to help address and prevent local crime in 2022. These three initiatives are still ongoing in the community.
From April 2022 to March 2023, Battlefords RCMP has made 136 school visits, sometimes giving safety and awareness presentations and other times to simply interact with students and staff. During the same timeframe, officers also attended 125 community meetings/engagements sessions to collaborate with local leaders and the public. During the winter holidays in December 2022, officers gave back to their community by accepting food donations and delivering the items to the local food bank. Officers will continue to share public updates with Battlefords communities of ongoing police initiatives and statistics.
"Our officers, partner agencies, local leaders and community members continue to work together to prevent and reduce crime," says Sergeant Chris Stephens of Battlefords detachment "The success of these initiatives and proactive enforcement results in more arrests, more breaches of conditions identified, and more charges being laid which can ultimately increase our crime rates. The programs and initiatives we implement stem from our collaboration and consultation with communities – this is why community engagement continues to be at the core of our policing priorities."
Community engagement and collaboration are key components for addressing crime and implementing proactive initiatives. The Battlefords RCMP continues to prioritize public safety, engage with community members, consult with local leaders and chiefs, and proactively target crimes in the communities.