Police respond to an incident on Branion Drive. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Crime

Drivers behaving badly and overall violent crime down in Prince Albert, stats say

May 8, 2024 | 1:00 PM

According to the most recent statistics provided by the Prince Albert Police Service, drivers in the city may need a little brushing up.

To the end of April, there were 396 tickets handed out. This compared to 240 for the same period last year.

Just for April alone there were 114 tickets issued, but this may largely be due to increased enforcement. Police Chief Patrick Nogier confirmed this in a statement provided to paNOW.

“Our enhanced enforcement efforts are designed to remind everyone of the importance of adhering to the rules of the road. This proactive approach is essential not only to manage the increased seasonal traffic but also to mitigate the potential for accidents. Our goal is to make our roads safe for everyone, including drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians,” he said.

With respect to more serious criminal code offenses, there were 93 assaults reported in April and 361 for the four-month period. This represented a decrease of roughly 90 from the same period in 2023.

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Numbers related to break-and-enter remain on par with last year. There were 56 related to residential and 34 for commercial properties.

Break-ins to outbuildings have seen slight increases.

(Prince Albert Police Service)

Theft of motor vehicles was a major issue in the city last year and for the first four months of that year, there were 165. In comparison, there have been 109 this year and 15 in April.

Weapons possession charges have also a big sticking point for the city. There were 10 in April, which was six fewer than April last year and there were 53 for the four-month period.

Another noticeable statistic is with respect to intoxicated arrests.

In April of 2023, there were 208. This compared to 70 last month. Year-to-date stats comparing last year and this year was a 63 per cent decrease from 784 to 287.

“Our commitment to community engagement and partnership with local organizations has allowed the to more effectively manage situations that involve intoxication, intervening directly only when the behavior escalates to a criminal level. This approach not only supports the well-being of our community members but also aligns with our overarching goals of public safety and harm reduction,” Nogier said.

Overall arrests have seen a 31-per-cent drop from 1,773 to 1,217.

By-law calls is another area which has seen a significant drop, 67 last year to 27.

Year-to-date, there has been one homicide which involves the death last Saturday of 51-year-old Beverly Constant. Her wake and funeral are scheduled for this week.

Constant’s son Everett stands charged with second degree murder.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell