La Ronge RCMP report falling crime stats at town hall meeting
The La Ronge RCMP weren’t shy to answer questions at a town hall meeting held Nov. 15, which was attended by about 40 residents from the tri-communities.
“There was a lot of good, tough questions,” Staff Sgt. Kyle Watson said. “I was pleasantly surprised. Overall, it was quite good, but I would have liked to see a bigger turnout.”
The meeting occurred at the Kikinahk Friendship Centre in La Ronge and some the information shared was about how crime is falling overall in the region. According to 2017 and 2018 January to June statistics from the La Ronge RCMP, there’s been a 72 per cent decrease in drug trafficking offenses, a 51 per cent drop in break and enters, a 45 per cent drop in robberies, a 43 per cent drop in harassment/uttering threats and a 37 per cent drop in fraud. The number of Youth Criminal Justice Act offenses have also decreased significantly by 72 per cent with 36 in 2017 and 10 by June 2018.
While offenses are down in the last year, crime has generally increased between 2013 and 2017. The data shows a 175 per cent increase in robberies, a 94 per cent increase in fraud, a 44 per cent increase in harassment/uttering threats and a 41 per cent increase in break-and-enters. While assaults are down 10 per cent when comparing 2017 and 2018, between 2013 and 2017, assaults are up 33 per cent. Watson contributes the recent decrease in crime to a number of factors.