Please note all information below occurred within the time period above, unless otherwise noted.
Saskatchewan RCMP - Your Provincial Police Service
March 19 to 25, 2023 marks National Impaired Driving Prevention Week, when police, government and community organizations work to raise awareness about the risks and consequences of impaired driving.
"I wish we didn't have to continue to warn the public about the dangers of impaired driving. We know it's dangerous. We know its tragic consequences are 100% preventable," says Supt. Grant St. Germaine, the officer in charge of Saskatchewan RCMP Traffic Services. "But we continue to find impaired drivers on Saskatchewan's roads."
In January and February 2023, Saskatchewan RCMP and Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) officers arrested 138 drivers who submitted breath samples over the legal limit and charged them under the Criminal Code. Some of these drivers were well over the legal limit of 80 mg% of alcohol in their blood, which is the threshold for a Criminal Code impaired driving charge:
- 66 drivers provided samples at least twice the legal limit;
- 12 drivers provided samples at least three times the legal limit; and
- 2 drivers were at least four times the legal limit.
"We're releasing these numbers to show you that people are continuing to get behind the wheel when it should be clear they shouldn't be. These results demonstrate why events like National Impaired Driving Prevention Week need to continue," Supt. Gt. Germaine says. "Everyone needs to take responsibility and ensure that they, and those around them, are not driving when they are impaired by alcohol or drugs."
Remember:
- If you will be consuming products which result in impairment, such as alcohol or cannabis, have a designated driver assigned or plan to take a cab or transit. If no safe ride is available, stay the night and drive only when sober.
- Don't take a chance. If you question whether you're "too impaired to drive or not", you likely are.
- Don't let friends or loved ones drive while impaired. If you have concerns about someone's ability to drive safely, share them calmly and rationally and offer alternative options.
- If you see a suspected impaired driver, pull over and immediately call 911. Signs of a possible impaired driver include: lane drifting; driving too fast, slow or at an inconsistent speed; not using proper signals; making very wide turns; approaching and leaving intersections too slowly or quickly; and driving without headlights or leaving high beams or turn signals on.
Investigative Recap
March 13: Waskesiu/Montreal Lake RCMP were conducting proactive patrols on Montreal Lake Cree Nation. An officer conducted a traffic stop and as a result of investigation, arrested the five occupants of the vehicle for a drug trafficking investigation. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, officers located and seized approximately 17 grams of methamphetamine, drug trafficking paraphernalia and a sum of cash.
31-year-old Jackie Morin from Little Red, 25-year-old Taylor Solomon from Prince Albert, 27-year-old Star McKenzie from La Ronge, 32-year-old Stephanie McCallum from Prince Albert and, 28-year-old Justin Charles from Prince Albert are each charged with one count, possession for the purpose of trafficking, Section 5(2), Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Charles and McKenzie appeared in Prince Albert Provincial Court on March 15, 2023.
Morin, Solomon and McCallum are scheduled to appear in court in Montreal Lake on April 6, 2023.
March 14: At approximately 9:25 a.m., Yorkton RCMP received a report of a threat made against a local school. Officers immediately responded and established there was no danger posed to the students and staff of the school. Investigation by Yorkton RCMP's Municipal General Investigation Section determined the threat originated online. Officers worked with technology providers and were able to determine the origins of the threat. As a result of investigation, 24-year-old Austin Ross from Yorkton was arrested on March 16 and charged with one count, uttering threats, Section 264.1(1)(a), Criminal Code and one count, public mischief, Section 140(2), Criminal Code. He is scheduled to appear in Yorkton Provincial Court on March 20, 2023. Cole Swain from Margo, SK was arrested on March 17, 2023 and is charged with one count, uttering threats, Section 264.1(1)(a), as well as for breaching a conditional sentence order. He is scheduled to appear in Yorkton Provincial court on March 20, 2023. The accused are not students or staff of the school and investigators have determined there is no further threat posed to the school.
March 15: Melfort RCMP received a report of an abandoned storage unit. Investigation determined the items contained in it may have been stolen, potentially from Melfort and the surrounding area. The items include semi parts including a bumper, light bar, body skirting and exhaust stack covers; a torque wrench; and two air exchangers. Melfort RCMP continue to investigate. Anyone who is missing these items, or has information about their origins, can contact Melfort RCMP at 306-752-6420. Information can also be submitted anonymously by contacting Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.saskcrimestoppers.com.
March 17: Saskatchewan RCMP is participating in the SACP Firearm Amnesty from March 20 – April 9, 2023
March 17: Peel Regional Police Service requested assistance from the Saskatchewan Enforcement Response Team in locating and apprehending Darbara Mann, who was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant from their jurisdiction for numerous charges. The Saskatchewan RCMP's Yorkton Saskatchewan Trafficking Response Team (STRT) started working to locate him. At approximately 12:30 p.m., Yorkton STRT observed a vehicle parked at a motel in Canora, SK with its licence plate removed. Yorkton STRT believed the vehicle to belong to Darbara Mann, and the removal of the licence plate was an attempt to conceal it from law enforcement. Darbara Mann was observed by investigators at the motel and advised he was under arrest. He did not comply with investigators and locked himself in a motel room. Further investigative efforts led to the arrest of Darbara Mann, following a brief foot chase.
Yorkton STRT, with assistance from the Canora RCMP and Yorkton RCMP Forensic Identification Services, executed a search warrant on the motel room and vehicle. Officers located the missing licence plate along with 28 assorted Saskatchewan and Ontario licence plates, all confirmed to belong to the male. As a result of the investigation, 50-year-old Darbara Mann will be returned to Peel Regional Police Service to appear in court in Ontario. Background is available here: https://www.peelpolice.ca/Modules/News/index.aspx?newsId=fe1fd775-7ceb-4e82-bcf9-315ca2e35672.
Background: The Saskatchewan Enforcement Response Team (SERT) consists of Saskatchewan RCMP's Crime Reduction Team (CRT) and Warrant Enforcement Suppression Team (WEST), as well as the Saskatchewan Trafficking Response Team (STRT). SERT will help the Saskatchewan RCMP continue to fulfil its mandate as the province's police force – keeping our communities safe. STRT's objective is to stop or disrupt inter and intra-provincial criminal groups involved in the trafficking of controlled substances and firearms, as well as human trafficking.
Incidents in Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction March 13 to 19, 2023
Please note: the statistics below are representative of reports received within the Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction. They are from the RCMP records management system and are accurate as the day they are collected. Crime statistics are regularly updated due to changes in reporting procedures, changes in ongoing investigations, etc. As a result, the statistics below may differ from previous or future published reports.
Divisional Operational Communications Centre (does not include calls for service by the public directly to local RCMP detachments)
| Calls for service total | 5796 |
| Highest volume of calls for service was on March 18, 2023 | 993 |
| Reports of Impaired Drivers (RID calls) | 52 |
| Homicide | 0 |
| Homicides year to date (January, 2023 to last day encompassed in this report) | 4 |
| Sexual assaults | 25 |
| Sexual crime - other (invitation to sexual touching, sexual interference) | 5 |
| Aggravated Assault | 6 |
| Assault | 185 |
| Assault with weapon or cauing bodily harm | 39 |
| Robbery | 8 |
| Firearms (use of in the commission of an offence, discharge with intent, pointing a firearm) | 5 |
| Kidnapping/forcible confinement | 5 |
| Harassment/uttering threats | 97 |
| Other persons offences (domestic or family dispute, criminal negligence causing bodily harm, extortion with firearm, mischief – danger to life, etc.) | 20 |
| Break and Enter Total | 76 |
| Number of break and enters to a business | 10 |
| Number of break and enters to a residence | 42 |
| Number of other break and enters (encompasses sheds, storage containers, unattached garages, etc.) | 24 |
| Theft Total | 186 |
| Other theft over $5,000 | 24 |
| Theft $5,000 or under | 124 |
| Number of theft of motor vehicle | 38 |
| Mischief | 456 |
| Number of mischief - damage to property | 75 |
| Number of mischief - obstruct enjoyment of property (example: unwanted, intoxicated person at a residence) | 381 |
| Bail violations | 142 |
| Breach of probation | 26 |
| Failure to appear | 39 |
| Disturbing the peace | 129 |
Reports of intimate partner and family violence
- Time period reported is quarterly.
- Data represents number of victims, as there may be more than one victim on a specific investigative file. An individual victimized more than once in a timeframe would be counted more than once. Due to common relationship types in intimate and family violence categories, totals should not be combined.
- Intimate partner refers to violence committed by spouses (legally married, separated, divorced and common-law), current and former dating partner, or someone with whom the victim was in another type of intimate relationship.
- Family violence refers to violence committed by spouses (legally married, separated, divorced and common-law), parents (biological, step, adoptive and foster), children (biological, step, adopted and foster), siblings (biological, step, half, adopted and foster) and extended family members (grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and in-laws).
| October 2022 | |
| Intimate partner violence | 404 |
| Family violence | 416 |
| November 2022 | |
| Intimate partner violence | 320 |
| Family violence | 323 |
| December 2022 | |
| Intimate partner violence | 338 |
| Family violence | 408 |
| Total intimate partner violence October- December, 2022 | 1062 |
| Total family violence October- December, 2022 | 1147 |
| Impaired-related offences | 79 |
| Number of roadside suspensions | 10 |
| Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle | 12 |
| Speeding (this does not include automated speed enforcement fines issued) | 1235 |
| Fines issued | 790 |
| Warnings issued (education-focused interaction between police and public) | 445 |
| Collisions | 237 |
| Dangerous driving | 8 |
| Fatal collisions (number of incidents, not victims) | 0 |
Non-offence Codes (generally, instances where Criminal Codes or Provincial/Federal Statutes aren't broken – for example abandoned vehicles, animal calls, school visits, property or wellbeing checks, etc.)
| Assistance | 278 |
| False alarms | 162 |
| Breach of peace | 114 |
| 911 Act – other activities | 174 |
| Suspicious person/vehicle/property | 148 |
| Mental health act (generally, police officers responding to reports of persons thinking about suicide, or people with mental illness and requiring assistance): | 144 |
| Non-suspicious sudden deaths/Coroner's Act (Every non-suspicious sudden death police officers respond to including reports of persons who died by suicide, natural, accident or undetermined. Specific breakdowns by cause of death are unavailable.) | 18 |