Property crime in Regina has been on an upward trend for 2016, according to the mid-year crime report from the Regina Police Service (RPS).
It’s a concern to the Regina police, who say the numbers are linked to another issue.
“We’ve seen an increased prevalence in the use of meth in our community,” Acting Chief Dean Rae said.
“It’s been on the increase for 18 months.”
He added that this time frame coincides with the rise in property crimes. This type of crime is up 17.7 per cent over last year as outlined in the crime report.
Motor vehicles have also been a popular target for thefts with a 50 per cent increase.
The Regina Drug Treatment Court is also troubled by the increase in methamphetamine.
In the 2014-15 fiscal year, 30 per cent of the people the court treated cited meth as a drug of choice. Last year, that amount went up to 60 per cent.
Judie Birns, the Regina Drug Treatment Court manager, said many of the people they help resorted to stealing things in an effort to feed their habit.
Through a combination of detox, counselling, and weekly court check ins, Birns said addicts will focus on recovery instead of incarceration.
“Many of the people that use crystal meth that are here were productive members of society. They start using crystal meth, and within two years they’ve lost everything. They want to get back to what they were,” Birns said.
“Jail is the answer for criminals, but not necessarily addicts, because addicts can be changed in their behaviour. So you want to get the addicts cleaned up, and make them productive members of society.”
Arson
Arson is up 78 per cent, according to the mid-year report. As of June, there have been 89 cases in the Queen City.
The Regina Fire Department said the string of fires between November 2015 and March of this year is a big factor. The fire department said fires calmed down around April, but intentionally-set fires picked back up in May and June.
The July numbers aren’t finalized yet, but the department said it’s expected to be another high month for arson.
Crimes Against People
Crimes like homicide, assault, and sexual assault are quite close to 2015’s mid-year numbers, and continue to reflect a 10-year downward trend.
Prostitution
Only one person has been charged with a prostitution-related offence this year, while 11 people faced charges in 2015.
This is in line with a major drop that started in 2014 following the introduction of Bill C-36; federal legislation that focuses prosecution on buyers instead of sex workers.
This forced the RPS to change the way they looked at enforcement, and Rae said they nearly have it all figured out.
“I think we have it pretty much underwraps, but I think we have to be aware of some of the other work we can do. Right now we haven’t had a lot of opportunity to go after some of the other john-related offences,” he said.
Rae added that the vice unit, which investigates matters surrounding issues like sexual crimes, had more john-sting operations planned for this year, but other investigations into matters like sexual assault took priority.
The unit plans to engage in more sting operations this fall.
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