NORTH BATTLEFORD — Battlefords RCMP reported break and enters are up in North Battleford, while property crime is down in the latest report.
Insp. Ryan How presented the January to March 2026 quarterly report at North Battleford city council's meeting on May 25.
Property offences were down by 12 per cent, with 672 reports for the period this year, compared to 760 for the same time last year.
"We're always concerned that the public may not be reporting property crime for a number of different reasons," How said. "So whenever we see a decrease in property crime, we take that with a grain of salt, and we know that it's still a significant issue in the city."
The public can report crime anonymously by contacting Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.saskcrimestoppers.com.(http://www.saskcrimestoppers.com).
Break and enters in North Battleford saw an increase of 77 per cent in the report, with 99 reports for the period this year, compared to 56 for the same time last year.
"When we're seeing calls of break-and-enters, we have made really excellent progress on making arrests, and getting some of our more prolific property crime offenders into court," How said.
"We've had several that have broken into commercial businesses that have been charged and arrested," he added. "Generally, these crimes are being done to feed an addiction, whereas other property crimes may not be. And we're seeing a decrease there, but we're very concerned with the number of break-and-enters going up, and that's as a result of some of the complex needs that we're facing in the city."
Crimes against persons have seen an increase in the report. Persons offences went up by 18 per cent, with 362 reports for the period in 2026, compared to 306 reports for the same time last year.
"Obviously, that's our most concerning, and that has to be our priority to deal with," said How. "Again, the RCMP has been very responsive to these calls for service and generally do make arrests and lay charges.
"Victim co-operation is a serious issue moving past through the courts," he added. "So even if we do make arrests and lay charges, sometimes these don't survive the court process, and we're dealing with the same offenders back on the street again. So we're examining ways to try and support victims and have them co-operate throughout the entire process. That will definitely help with managing this increase in persons' crime. But it has to be and has to continue our priority to find ways to drop this down."
The RCMP quarterly report showed an overall three per cent increase in calls for service. Numbers were at 3,584 calls for the period in 2026, compared to 3,483 calls for the same time last year.
"The three per cent overall in calls for service is fairly standard," How said. "We've seen fluctuations like that over the course of the last five years. So the overall calls for service, while they're extremely high for the detachment to manage, a three per cent increase is within a normal period."
North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin thanked the RCMP for their work apprehending suspects.
"I think the one takeaway from tonight is they have been making arrests," she said. "They have been apprehending suspects quite quickly. So the police are doing a great job, but, of course, it's the supports for folks with complex needs, addictions, a lack of housing, that really continue to be cyclical individuals that the RCMP are dealing with without the resources to help."
