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 Led by a surge in drug, theft and property violations, Creighton's crime rate unexpectedly spiked last year. Newly released figures from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics show crime rose 28 per cent in 2010. A total of 239 Criminal Code violations were reported, up from 171 in 2009. But Sgt. Mark Svaren of the Creighton RCMP cautioned against taking the figures strictly at face value. "You'd have to be careful that the numbers are actually showing an increase in crime rather than an increase in enforcement in crime," he said, "because the stats don't really differentiate between the two." Sgt. Svaren felt that the rise in drug offences, for instance, related to strengthened enforcement rather than a rise in actual drug activity in the town of 1,500. Noting the relatively small number of offences occurring in Creighton, he said crime percentages can vary greatly depending on which offenders are in town Ð and free to walk the streets Ð at any given time. If a "prolific" offender is in custody or subject to court-ordered restrictions, then the crime rate would be impacted positively, Sgt. Svaren said. In 2010, Creighton RCMP laid 14 drug-related charges compared to only one, for marijuana possession, the previous year. The charges included six for cocaine trafficking, six for marijuana possession and two for pot trafficking. Non-vehicular theft under $5,000 more than doubled to 19 incidents, up from nine. The number of motor vehicle thefts, however, dropped from three to two. There were 98 property crimes in Creighton, a rise from 79. Mischief also increased, up to 67 incidents from 47. See 'Fail...' on pg. 10 Continued from pg. 1 At the same time, criminals appeared more brazen Ð or foolish Ð about ignoring their court-ordered conditions. There were 32 "fail to comply" charges, nearly double the 17 recorded in 2009. Violent crime increased modestly, to 41 incidents from 36. Break and enters also went up but, with 12 incidents compared to seven, remained relatively rare. Mounties experienced greater success in nabbing drunk drivers, laying 17 impaired-driving charges compared to 11 a year earlier. The Creighton RCMP's rural jurisdiction also saw a bump in crime. With 362 reported violations, up from 284, crime rose 21 per cent in a region that includes Denare Beach, Sturgeon Landing and some of Highway 106, Here, property crime, non-vehicular theft, break and enters, mischief, drug offences and impaired driving all increased. Among the crime categories declining were violent crime and level-one assaults. As The Reminder reported Monday, crime in Flin Flon dropped a modest 12 per cent in 2010, though the trend did not extend to all types of offences.
