Regina crime on the rise compared to 2022, despite success from police plane

According to those at the Regina Police Service, crime in the city is on its way up.

At Tuesday’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting, Dean Rae, the interim chief of police, outlined the struggles police continue to push against.

The crime statistics for the month of August 2023 show an increase in crimes against people of 24.6 per cent compared to August 2022, while crimes against property show a 10.5-per cent increase compared to August 2022. Crimes against the person and crimes against property show a combined year-to-date increase of 13.3 per cent.

Overall, the Regina Police Service received 1,276 more reported incidents of crimes against the person and crimes against property combined in 2023 over 2022 for a 13.3-per cent increase.

Overall, calls for service to police are also up 9.6 per cent from August of last year, RPS found.

“There were a total of 7,735 dispatched Calls for Service in August for a year-to-date increase of 9.6 per cent,” the report outlined.

Rae said Regina has seen an increase in what he calls robberies committed by strangers.

“The victim and the accused are not known to each other, they are essentially strangers,” Rae said. “We have people that are committing robberies on individuals, whether it’s a street robbery or whatever the case may be, they don’t know those people so it’s random.”

“We’re seeing an increased number of those random robberies within our community, and that’s concerning for us.”

Assaults have also been an issue in the community.

“Pretty much across the board in assaults, we’re seeing increases and they could be anything from domestic conflicts to other types of assaults like a simple bar fight,” Rae said.

Rae said crime levels have returned to what they were before the pandemic.

“We don’t like to see an increase in crime, especially when we’re seeing crimes against persons. We’re seeing increased victimization within those individuals in our community. So that’s a concern.”

On the positive side, Rae said the introduction of a police plane over the last year has made a big difference in the community.

“Whenever the plane is involved in an incident, we have 100 per centsuccess rate in apprehending or identifying who’s involved in this,” he explained.

“Whether it’s a fairly minor incident like a theft from a vehicle, or something more serious like a domestic conflict or other even homicides and things, if we get the information early enough, the plane can identify where that individual went.”

Vehicle thefts have also seen a year-to-date decrease of 65 incidents, the report said.

1:34 Regina crime rate ranks 7th across Canada in 2022