The Prince Albert Police Service has updated monthly statistical reporting to reflect the most serious reported incidents officers are responding to, and more accurately report the number of people affected by incidents of violent crime in our community.
The monthly statistical report, which is presented to the Prince Albert Board of Police Commissioners and posted publicly to the Prince Albert Police Service website, now reflects the top types of assault complaints and reports of property crime each month, and the number of victims of violent crime and sexual violations.
This recent line-by-line audit of the monthly numbers aligns with the collection of national statistical data and prevents duplicate reporting of crimes related to the same incident. Since police files often involve numerous Criminal Code charges, previous reporting resulted in charges from the same file potentially being counted more than once.
“I want to commend the work of our Police Records Management Controllers (PRMC) Analyst and our IT Section for their exceptional work in updating the statistical report to provide a more accurate picture of the types of calls our police service is responding to,” said Chief Jon Bergen. “This new reporting format means we can keep the public better informed and ensures we are collecting the right data as needed by Statistics Canada for tracking of crime severity index values.”
In February, the month for which the most recent information is available, statistics show Prince Albert Police members responded to 6,488 calls for service in the first two months of 2021, including a 205 per cent increase in the number of Neighbourhood Strengthening, or proactive high-visibility community patrols conducted by members to date.
Police responded to incidents involving 159 victims of crime in the first two months of the year, and 78 in February 2021 alone. These incidents included reports of aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and common assault. There was one incident of robbery reported in February, down from the previous year, when five robberies were reported in February 2020.
The top reported property crimes, including wilful damage complaints, theft under $5,000, theft of motor vehicle and shoplifting complaints, are down this year, with 380 reports, compared to 493 for the first two months of 2020. The majority of stolen vehicles were taken using a nearby key or fob, or were left unlocked.
Break and enters to residences, businesses, and garages or outbuildings are also down in the first two months of 2021, with police responding 54 reports, as compared to 76 the year prior.
Police have seized 22 firearms so far in 2021. In the month of February, no firearms were brandished or discharged within the city.
Officers have also seized various amounts of drugs during police investigations this year, including just over 743 grams of methamphetamine, 275.4 grams of crack cocaine, and 181.6 grams of cannabis resin.
To review more statistics from the Prince Albert Police Service’s monthly report to the Board of Police Commissioners, please visit the link here.