Halloween is a celebration especially enjoyed by young ones who seek out sweets and fun with friends, however, the evening has also developed a reputation for mischief.  

This year has been rather calm in terms of crime compared to the past in Swift Current, which City RCMP Staff Sargeant Evan Gordon attributed to good community programming. 

Gordon was on patrol throughout Halloween and the weekend which preceded it. 

“Things like Spook-O-Rama definitely give local youth an outlet to get out and about, see friends and take part in an event that night,” stated Gordon. “Otherwise, they might be looking for something to do out on the street. I think those community events definitely play a part in keeping things peaceful and lawful.” 

Gordon went on to explain that Halloween was a fairly tame event for Swift Current Municipal RCMP, this year, and over that period they only received nine calls for varied services, which was relatively standard. The most serious case was a drunk driver the weekend prior to Halloween. 

“On Saturday, October 28, a local male was reported to have left a licensed establishment under the influence of alcohol, and once officers were able to locate him and after breath samples, he was found to have been over the legal limit to drive,” explained Gordon. “By and large, even that weekend leading up to Halloween was fairly tame.” 

The pleasant nature of this year’s celebrations was not just by luck, as city RCMP officers were taking preventative measures in order to keep the community safe. 

“In addition to responding to those calls and dealing with those incidents, members conducted proactive patrols, checking drivers to sobriety, ensuring the Traffic Safety Act was being followed with a lot of the little folks out and about on the streets,” said Gordon. “We want to make sure that we're providing a presence and reminding people to keep their speeds down and watch where they're driving... We didn't receive any calls of mischief; nothing has been reported since.” 

In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, Swift Current Online encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the Swift Current Online app.