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's recently released crime stats for 2012 are a case of good news, bad news. The good news is that, on the whole, our crime rate dropped 5.6 per cent, with 50 fewer incidents reported to police (906 versus 956). Of particular note, break-and-enters dropped by more than half (35 versus 74) following a sky-high year in 2011. Property crime, sometimes described as Flin Flon's most serious crime problem, dropped 13 per cent (365 versus 419). And charges for impaired driving, a reckless crime that has cost Flin Flon and other Canadian communities dearly, plummeted 69 per cent (21 versus 68). The bad news is that Flin Flon simultaneously experienced a 32 per cent spike in what police term violent crime. To be clear, violent crime remained relatively rare, with the raw number of incidents climbing from 150 to 198. In comparison to our neighbours in The Pas and Thompson, that's quite low. 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. It is disturbing to know that those sorts of incidents are happening in our community. It is also surprising, since the crimes many of us generally hear about involve rather trivial matters such as stolen lawnmowers or spray-painted garages. But it is not the petty crimes that deserve the attention. It is the violent offences that are making our community feel less safe for at least a portion of the populace. Perception Shift It is no secret that over the last several years, the perception of Flin Flon has, for some, shifted from that of a don't-lock-your-doors kind of place to one where increased vigilance is required. Over coffee a few months back, a friend relayed that very sentiment, telling me that when she was a kid in Flin Flon, she could play anywhere any time of the day and not worry. Now that wasn't the case. I told her that someone in Winnipeg, Oshawa or Moose Jaw was no doubt saying the same thing, yearning for the same perceived innocence of yesteryear. Yet I don't dismiss the concerns of people who worry about the safety of Flin Flon. I can't say there aren't legitimate concerns, because there are. I can't say Flin Flon is the same place it was in 1953 or even 1993, because it's not. The world, in fact, is a different place. That's partly because we are more attuned to the inherent risks of living on this planet, and it's partly because certain bad things are happening more often _ such as certain crimes. That doesn't mean we become paranoid, cocking our shotguns and filling the basement with non-perishable food. It just means that we accept that the world is not always a safe place and that Flin Flon is part of that reality. So take reasonable precautions. Use common sense to avoid situations that are likely to end badly. If a home-security system will make you sleep better at night, get one. But also realize that things are still pretty darn good _Êand safe _ here in Flin Flon. And take solace in the wise words of magician-comedian Penn Jillette: 'Two things have always been true about human beings. One, the world is always getting better. Two, the people living at that time think it's getting worse.' Local Angle runs Fridays.
