Vehicle thefts, crime rose in 2018

A high number of vehicle thefts in Regina led to a rise in overall crime in 2018.

Thefts of vehicles increased by 51.5 per cent over 2017, with 474 more incidents during 2018.

“There isn’t really one simple solution,” Regina Police Chief Evan Bray said following the board of police commissioners meeting on Wednesday.

Bray said the Regina Police Service (RPS) is making arrests daily when it comes to stolen vehicles so that’s not what Bray sees as being the issue.

“After we arrest (suspects), we have to find a way to prevent them from stealing again,” he said.

He said people are now stealing vehicles in order to commit other crimes instead of just going out for joyrides. He also said addiction could be playing a role.

“If we can deal with the addictions, they don’t have a need to steal a car to commit crime,” said Bray.

Bray said there also needs to be work done to ensure that cars aren’t easy to steal in the first place. The RPS has been issuing reminders over the winter months, reminding people to not leave keys inside their vehicles.

Bray does admit it’s a tough thing to do, noting that not everyone has a command-start option and they don’t want to wait in their vehicles for them to warm up.

The RPS will be bringing forward a reworked auto-theft strategy in a short time.

In 2018, crimes against property saw an increase of 1,585 reported incidents over 2017, for an overall increase of 11.4 per cent. Crimes against a person saw an eight-per-cent increase in 2018. Sexual assaults saw a 38.6-per-cent increase over 2017.