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.
Flin Flon saw a modest drop in crime last year, but the trend did not extend to violent offenses. Newly released figures from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics show that overall per-capita crime fell 5.6 per cent in Flin Flon in 2012. RCMP responded to 906 incidents last year, down 50 from 2011. That drop, combined with a slight change in the RCMP's population figures for Flin Flon, led to the per-capita decrease. The raw number of break and enters dropped 53 per cent (35 incidents in 2012 versus 74 in 2011), much to the relief of home and business owners. Property crime fell 13 per cent (365 versus 419), while impaired driving charges plummeted 69 per cent (21 versus 68). Not only were there far fewer impaired driving charges, there were also 60 per cent fewer Criminal Code traffic violations overall (30 versus 75). Another steep drop came in motor vehicle thefts, which were down 71 per cent (five versus 17). Non-vehicular thefts under $5,000 declined 27 per cent (58 versus 79). Charges of disturbing the peace were down 15 per cent (151 versus 177). The rare crime of arson was, as far as police charges go, non-existent (four versus zero). Total drug violations were down 15 per cent (35 versus 41), including a steep drop in charges related to cocaine trafficking, production or distribution (three versus 17). But when it came to the broad category of violent crime, Flin Flon experienced a spike of 32 per cent (198 versus 150). Much of the increase came from level 1 assaults _ the least serious of three assault categories _ which rose 60 per cent (88 versus 55). Level 2 assaults _ those involving a weapon or causing bodily harm _ essentially held steady (30 versus 33), as did level 3 aggravated assaults (five versus three). Level 1 sexual assaults tripled but remained rare (nine versus three). And whereas there were no reported sexual violations against children in 2011, in 2012 there were two. Instances of uttering threats, meanwhile, increased 39 per cent (43 versus 31). Mischief rose 12 per cent (248 versus 222) and weapons violations, though still uncommon, more than doubled (seven versus three). See 'Youth' on pg. Continued from pg. Incidents involving the Youth Criminal Justice Act more than tripled (11 versus three). The crime figures, released last week, illustrate how a relatively small number of people are responsible for Flin Flon's crime _ or at least those crimes where charges were laid. In 2012 crimes in Flin Flon led to 197 people being charged _ 159 adults and 38 youth. That's fewer than 2011, when 235 people were charged, consisting of 193 adults and 42 youth. But merely reviewing the hard stats does not put the crime scene into the proper perspective, police have said. In previous interviews, RCMP have said that because of the relatively small number of crimes in Flin Flon, it only takes a few incidents to skew the overall data. Moreover, 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. Then there's the issue of known crimes versus unknown crimes. Were there fewer impaired drivers on the road in 2012, or did police just charge fewer of them? It's impossible to tell. Complete 2012 crime statistics for Creighton and Denare Beach were unavailable at press time.
