By Taylor MacPherson

More drugs, weapons on P.A. streets: Police stats

Feb 8, 2017 | 1:00 PM

Prince Albert Police Service published its 2016 year-end statistics, and the numbers show drug possession and weapons offences increased sharply in Prince Albert last year.

Crimes against people, such as assaults or robberies, increased by 4.15 per cent last year, while crimes against property, including break-and-enter and fraud, went up by 16.14 per cent.

The largest increase was seen in weapons offences, which rose 59 per cent over 2015. Drug possession cases increased by almost 50 per cent last year, with 199 incidents logged by police.

Chief Troy Cooper told paNOW firearm charges have “increased exponentially” over the last 18 months, resulting in a need for more officers on front-line duty.

“We’ve had to increase the number of people we’ve had as first responders just so we can respond safely to some of the calls,” Cooper said.

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The area where police made the most progress in 2016, Cooper said, was with cases involving liquor. Police saw reductions in impaired driving rates, Cooper said, as well as a drop in alcohol-related crimes such as public intoxication, domestic violence and calls to liquor vendors.

While the numbers show improvement around alcohol, Cooper acknowledged crystal meth and other hard drugs still represent one of the biggest thorns in the city’s side.

“We’ve had drugs and drug-related issues flare up over the last year and a half,” Cooper said, noting drugs are often at the root of property crimes and mental-health related calls.

Cooper said increased police resources directed towards drug enforcement should also help reduce crimes such as fraud and motor vehicle theft, both of which jumped last year.

“Tackling drugs and drug offending [and] drug trafficking will be the easiest way for us to address other things like property crime,” Cooper said, and added police will work closely with RCMP and other partner organizations to help stop drug trafficking before it reaches the city.

Although the statistics may be concerning at first glance, Cooper said the numbers alone do not provide a complete picture of police activity in P.A.

“Our crime stats require an explanation,” Cooper said. “There’s lots of things the police do that aren’t criminal. I think about the missing persons, for example, or mental health issues; we don’t report those on the crime stat sheet.”

Cooper said the department is currently analyzing the statistics from 2016 in detail, and will present the full conclusions at an upcoming police commissioners meeting. Cooper also noted police are working on a better method of reporting crime statistics, which he wants to include an interactive map of the city.

The Prince Albert Police Service statistics are based on police incident reports only, and do not accurately reflect the number of charges issued or criminal convictions.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

@TMacPhersonNews