By Taylor MacPherson

Police Chief reflects on rise of meth and crime in 2016

Dec 27, 2016 | 5:00 AM

Prince Albert’s top cop said the force made progress fighting alcohol and impaired driving in 2016, but rising crystal meth usage led to a concerning jump in several crime stats this year.

Police Chief Troy Cooper said reports of impaired drivers fell 17 per cent this year and police have seen a drop in both public intoxication and family dispute calls. Although the numbers are positive around alcohol, Cooper said other drugs are responsible for a spike in P.A. crime.

“The successes we saw primarily were around alcohol,” Cooper said. “Some of the challenges we had maybe are around drugs and drug enforcement.”

Cooper said the increased crystal meth trafficking in P.A. resulted in 46 per cent more drug charges issued than last year, as well as a rise in property crime and weapons charges which he believes are related.

“We’ve doubled the number of firearms that we’ve seized over the last year,” Cooper said. “Much of that weapon use and firearm use is linked to crystal meth use.”

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“Fortunately, it’s contained generally to drug trafficking and to the gang subculture, so the general public hasn’t been at an increased risk,” he said.

With more firearms on the streets increasing the risk to officer safety, Cooper said the police force has ordered more carbines and officers are already being trained to use them. In 2017, he said, the short-barrelled assault rifles will be available for every patrol shift.

The rise in meth use, Cooper said, stretches police resources thin as the side effects of drug additions ripple through the population.

“People who are addicted, whether it’s [to] drugs or alcohol, tend to require more mental health treatment and that requires police resources and time,” he said.

While meth has been a destructive influence on the city, Cooper noted P.A. has luckily been almost entirely spared from the fentanyl crisis which has caused numerous overdose deaths in other western provinces.

Cooper said police will continue focusing on the big drivers of crime next year, which he said are drug use, drug trafficking and impaired driving. According to Cooper even more police resources will be directed towards traffic enforcement next year as the province continues to crack down on drinking and driving.

“In 2017 there’s new funding, and there’s going to be more consistent roadside checks and screening,” Cooper said.

New provincial legislation coming in January will make it easier for police to charge drivers distracted by cell phones or seize the vehicles of impaired drivers, Cooper said. He added the force has watched closely as roadside drug testing pilot programs are rolled out across the country.

“We’re thinking that 2017 is going to be the year that we take traffic enforcement and visibility around traffic enforcement very seriously, and that’s something the community has asked for,” Cooper said.

Cooper is also planning to step up public communications next year, which he said will “let people know what the police are doing, and let people know that their investment in us and their trust in us is well-placed.”

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews