RCMP says parts of rural Saskatchewan see violent crime rates six times higher than urban counterparts, according to 2023 data.
“It is significantly concerning for all of us, right from myself, down to our members on the front-line positions in communities, but we are working on it,” said Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore at a Friday news conference.
Blackmore spoke to the release of 2023 crime statistics sourced from both the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics’ annual report, which was released Thursday, and internal RCMP data.
Canada’s national crime rate increased by three per cent in 2023 compared to 2022, and the Crime Severity Index (CSI) rose by two per cent for the third year in a row.
Saskatchewan’s crime rate clocked in at nearly double the national rate at 14,000 incidents per 100,000 people, as did the province’s CSI, hitting a 10-year high.
A crime rate is calculated using the number of police-reported offences per population size, while the CSI weighs the seriousness of each crime.
The RCMP linked Saskatchewan’s year-over-year jump in both figures to a sustained multi-year rise in serious violent crimes, especially assault, domestic violence and firearm offences concentrated in northern Saskatchewan.
The Northern District reported the largest volume of violent crime in 2023, equating to 56 per cent of the province’s overall stat, along with increases in nearly all other crime types compared to the central and south regions.
Saskatchewan continues to have the highest rates of intimate partner violence in the country, accounting for half of all violent crime in the province in 2023.
According to five-and 10-year trends provided by the RCMP, long-term data shows that overall there are 46 per cent more victims of violent crime compared to 10 years ago, and victims are experiencing more severe types of violence.
Use of the emergency response team (ERT) has also doubled in the past five-years, having been deployed to 94 incidents in 2023 compared to 44 in 2019, and priority calls to RCMP’s dispatch have hit a three-year high.
She said all these statistics should be considered alongside the size and scope of RCMP’s jurisdiction, which covers 46 per cent of the population but investigates 60 per cent of all Criminal Code violations in the province.
“I don’t think it’s reflective of the work, because there is exceptional work being done out there,” she said, pointing to the 85-per-cent clearance rate in homicide investigations.
Gang activity is spreading to smaller communities across the province, she said, and RCMP is putting more focus on preventative policing and locating “prolific offenders.”
“I want to be clear that law enforcement is only one part of the solution for decreasing crime. Social issues like substance addictions, gangs and the absence of community resources are some of the root causes of crime. These issues are complex and it takes a concerted, multi-agency response,” she said.
“We have to look at the complexity of crime and if we have to have more resources … to address those.”
The Government of Saskatchewan has committed to funding a full complement of 1,047 RCMP officers in 2024, though Blackmore said “aggressive” recruiting is needed to fill those positions.
Saskatchewan’s high rates of violent crime does impact recruitment and retention, she acknowledged. The RCMP is currently sitting at a vacancy rate of 21 per cent, including open postings and officers temporarily off-duty.
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