Egland scores Teddy Bear Toss goal but Pats lose in OT
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Over 3,000 stuffed animals were tossed onto the ice.
Regina is seeing fewer violent crimes and more thefts so far this year, according to Regina police chief Evan Bray.
Bray, during his monthly appearance on Gormley, said it’s “always very positive” to see incidents like sexual assaults and homicides take a downward trajectory in crime statistics.
“Anytime we can show a decrease in that category it is literally individuals not being hurt, not being offended against,” he explained.
That category, crimes against the person, encompasses crimes like assaults and other serious violent offences — and has diminished by about 10 per cent so far in 2022.
Property crime, however, has seen an increase of about the same amount.
Bray said thefts and break and enters have been main concerns so far in 2022. In particular, thefts of catalytic converters, which is a piece of equipment people try to pawn or sell because of the metals its made of.
It’s especially problematic “because they can break into a remote compounds and sometimes victimize a number of vehicles,” Bray told Gormley.
He said his force, like others, is approaching the issue to determine not only who is committing the crime, but who is buying the items.
“If we can take that market away, hopefully it curbs that problem,” Bray said.
While many buyers are helpful to police, some “are not worried about making a back-door deal,” Bray said, to get products to resell.
A similar problem was happening in Saskatchewan before, where people would break into vacant homes and cut out copper pipes, which they would similarly sell.
Bray said police are working with people in scrap metal yards and explaining to them that buying such items could be perpetuating crime.
Not related to crime statistics, Bray said a different problem Regina police are facing now is recruitment.
It’s an ongoing problem that has been “exacerbated” over the past five years, especially, Bray explained.
He said the job market is competitive, with many employers looking for people to come work. On top of that, Bray said it’s a tough time to recruit police for several reasons.
“Policing isn’t the most attractive option for lots of reasons,” Bray said, noting that movements calling for police to be defunded over the past year and a half have taken a toll on the recruiting pool.
Bray said the actions of a U.S. police officer can affect Canadian policing and forces worldwide with calls for police reform.
“We’re really living in a time where people aren’t beating down the doors to come work as police officers,” Bray shared.
With that, sometimes the people that are applying aren’t the right fit for the job, the chief noted.
“We need people with integrity, people with moral standards, people that don’t have racist beliefs,” he said, adding that the recruitment process to become an officer is a “long trajectory” for good reason.