The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Flin Flon's crime rate fell last year, but this welcome trend did not extend to all types of offences. Newly released figures from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics show crime dropped 12 per cent in Flin Flon in 2010. Reported Criminal Code violations totalled 687 compared to 785 in 2009. Most major crime categories saw declines, including violent crime, which dropped 29 per cent (121 incidents versus 171). Property crime went down 11 per cent (322 versus 363) while robberies were non-existent (0 versus 5). Mischief (180 versus 213) and disturbing the peace (127 versus 149) each dropped by 15 per cent. Incidents of uttering threats (17 versus 30), threatening or harassing phone calls (11 versus 13) and fraud (12 versus 15) were also lower. Break and enters (46 versus 50) and non-vehicular thefts under $5,000 (67 versus 66) essentially held steady. As was the case in 2009, there were no non-vehicular thefts over $5,000. Impaired driving (36 versus 40) and weapons violations (2 versus 3) were also basically level last year. Assaults Assaults with a weapon or causing bodily harm were at an identical level (14), as were motor vehicle thefts (9). Other types of crime were on the rise. Trafficking charges were up for both cocaine (5 versus 1) and marijuana (6 versus 2). Also higher were marijuana production charges (2 versus 0). Charges for possessing marijuana were the same (7). There were no charges relating to cocaine possession. Possession of other controlled drugs remained rare (1 versus 2). A more disturbing crime Ð sexual violations against children Ð also remained rare even as the number of charges tripled (3 versus 0). Just as disconcerting were indications that criminals were taking their court-ordered conditions less seriously. Failures to comply with court orders rose 29 per cent (35 versus 25) while probation breaches more than doubled (24 versus 10). See 'For...' on pg. 6 Continued frm pg. 1 For the fifth straight year there were no homicides. The last reported homicide in Flin Flon occurred in June 2005. Last year marked the second consecutive year that the city's crime rate has slid. It fell eight per cent in 2009, a year after rising 26 per cent. But merely reviewing the hard stats does not put the crime scene into the proper perspective, according to Flin Flon RCMP Sgt. Nolan Suss. Few incidents In a previous interview, he said that because of the relatively small number of crimes in Flin Flon, it only takes a few incidents to skew the overall data. Sgt. Suss said crimes like break and enters and property damage fluctuate largely around young people going through criminal phases and which residents happen to be in or out of jail at a given time. When it comes to property crimes in particular, he said the majority of the problems are caused by a particular group of individuals. When those people are either caught or stop committing crimes, another group takes their place. Complete crime statistics for Creighton and Denare Beach were unavailable at press time.
