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 jumped nearly a third last year, but the hard stats may not tell the full story. New figures from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics show the city experienced 959 violations in 2011, up 228 incidents _ or 32 per cent _ from 2010. But as with all statistics, context is crucial. Was there far more crime or were police simply better at uncovering what already existed? RCMP Staff Sgt. Andy Jarvie said the rise is averaged over many different crime categories, some of which saw increases, others decreases. He pointed to improved enforcement and said the public may be reporting more crimes. On paper at least, crime rose in several key categories, including violent offences, which were up 25 per cent (121 incidents to 151). Included in this category were assaults with a weapon or causing bodily harm, which more than doubled (14 to 32). Break-and-enters were up 63 per cent (46 to 75) while thefts of motor vehicles nearly doubled (nine to 17). Non-vehicular theft under $5,000 rose 20 per cent (66 to 79). Property crime increased 32 per cent (321 to 424) as mischief was up 25 per cent (180 to 225). Disturbances to the peace saw a 40 per cent rise (127 to 178). Charges of cocaine trafficking more than tripled (five to 18), and whereas there were no cocaine-possession charges in 2010, there were four in 2011. The rise was far less dramatic when it comes to another drug, marijuana. Trafficking charges climbed slightly (six to eight), as did possession charges (seven to nine). Uttering threats Charges of uttering threats ascended (17 to 31) while threatening or harassing phone calls were nearly level (11 to 13). Impaired driving charges increased 21 per cent (56 to 68). Last year's numbers include four instances of a person refusing to provide a breath sample. Arson remained a fairly rare crime (three to four), though there was one charge of arson with disregard for human life compared to zero in 2010. Also uncommon were sexual assaults (four to five), all of which were in the least severe of the three reporting classes, involving minor or no physical injuries. Other increases were recorded in probation breaches (24 to 30) and failures to comply with court orders (36 to 40). Fraud also climbed to a small degree (11 to 14), as did shoplifting of $5,000 or less (10 to 13). In terms of drug enforcement, Staff Sgt. Jarvie called 2011 'an extraordinary year' in which police took down an out-of-province group trying to enter Flin Flon. That resulted in a number of the drug charges, something he sees as a positive. See 'Monit...' on pg. 3 Continued from pg. 1 Meanwhile, Staff Sgt. Jarvie said police efforts to closely monitor repeat offenders _ through curfew checks and ensuring compliance with court orders _ have made a big difference with those individuals. 'But there's always new people coming up,' he said. Staff Sgt. Jarvie said the public has worked well with the detachment in terms of providing information and utilizing the Crime Stoppers tip line. Categories where Flin Flon crime dropped in 2011 included level-one assaults (61 to 53), sexual violations against children (three to zero) and theft of a motor vehicle over $5,000 (three to two). Also down were identity theft (one to zero) and failure to stop or remain at the scene of an accident (eight to three). Many other categories remained unchanged, such as weapons possession (two and two). A sizable number of categories saw no offences in either 2010 or 2011, including child pornography, prostitution and kidnapping. Creighton down Across the border in Creighton, total crime dropped 17 per cent (199 violations to 165). This included declines in violent crime (34 to 28), property crime (64 to 39) and break and enters (four to two). Impaired driving charges were also down (15 to nine) along with motor-vehicle thefts (one to zero) and cocaine trafficking (three to zero). But some types of crime in Creighton rose, if only slightly, such as level 1 and 2 assaults (17 to 19) and non-vehicular theft under $5,000 (two to six). Neither the Flin Flon nor Creighton stats include the surrounding districts, such as the cottage subdivisions near Flin Flon or Denare Beach near Creighton. The Reminder will have more on crime trends in those areas.
