This last quarter of crime stats in Swift Current was presented at city council. 

It was a pretty standard quarter, stretching from July to September 2023. Being fairly comparable to last year, there were only a few major standouts. 

One of the most notable increases was in Mischief. Last year, Swift Current Municipal RCMP responded to 93 incidents during that quarter. This year, they documented 124. 

Detachment Commander at the Municipal RCMP, Evan Gordon, presented the report at city council on Monday. He was able to delve into the details of the report, breaking down spikes in numbers like the ones in Mischief cases. He broke down how mischief cases fall into two categories: damage to property, or interference with the lawful enjoyment of property. 

"A smashed window is damage to property," described Gordon. "An unwanted guest in your residence, someone that's kind of overstayed their welcome, is unlawful enjoyment of property. It's really a catch-all."

One of the more interesting cases Gordon highlighted was that of a pickup truck at S3 Group Arenas. It was reported as covered in cheese slices and glitter. 

"That constitutes mischief when it gets reported to us," said Gordon. "It was found to be that that was a bit of a practical joke between two parties, not of a criminal nature."

Other highlights from the crime stats report included a spike in Break and Enter - Business. There were 19 of these cases reported in this quarter, compared to only three last year.

"I think this is something that we're seeing provincially," attributed Gordon. "It's maybe indicative of some of the hardships that folks are facing and some of the trends that we're seeing across the board."

A big factor in the increase was that a large portion of these incidents occurred in a storage facility. Each of the separate units that were infiltrated counted as their own break-in. 

"So although still classified as a Business Break and Enter, we're not talking about brick and mortar storefronts necessarily that are being broken into," said Gordon. "One male and one female were arrested in relation to those, and since that time our monthly average has dropped from six a month to one."

Folks can find the rest of this report on the City of Swift Current website, inside the latest city council agenda.

 

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.