ESTEVAN — The Estevan Police Service (EPS) continues to see a decrease in the total number of calls for 2025.
According to data released at the Oct. 15 meeting of the Estevan board of police commissioners, the EPS had 567 calls in September, down from 622 the year before. Total calls for the first nine months of this year stood at 5,288, down 5.8 per cent from the previous year’s 5,614.
Nine crimes against the person were reported last month, all for assaults. There were 10 crimes against the person reported last year. For the first nine months of this year, the EPS had 121 crimes against the person, with 96 assaults, 13 sexual crimes, 11 assaults causing bodily harm and one homicide. There were 137 crimes against the person for the same period a year ago.
Crimes against property stood at 44 for last month, led by 24 thefts under $5,000 and 15 mischief/wilful damage complaints. Three residential break and enters, one business break and enter, and one theft of a motor vehicle were also reported. There were 37 crimes against property in September 2024.
Police Chief Jamie Blunden said bicycle thefts were down to four in September, and he believes the EPS has a handle on the issue. As for other thefts under $5,000, he said officers responded to complaints of shoplifting, thefts of fuel, and incidents at the Salvation Army’s bins and the Estevan Leisure Centre.
“There’s just a vast array of different thefts,” said Blunden.
As of Sept. 30, 2024, the EPS had 331 crimes against property, with 176 thefts under $5,000 and 103 mischief/wilful damage complaints topping the list. Other calls included 22 thefts of a motor vehicle, 19 residential break and enters, five business break and enters, four thefts over $5,000 and two arsons. The first nine months of 2024 had 343 crimes against property.
There were no charges listed under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), although Blunden noted there was a drug bust in September that was assigned to August’s numbers. There were two CDSA charges in September 2024.
The EPS had 21 CDSA charges in the first nine months of the year, with 14 for trafficking and seven for possession. Twenty-three such charges occurred in the first nine months of last year.
Sixteen Criminal Code traffic violations occurred last month, with nine for impaired/exceed-related offences, six for impairment by drug and one for dangerous driving/other.
Blunden noted some of the impairment by drug charges dated back to arrests in the summer. When asked by member-at-large Roberta DeRosier about the length of time it takes to receive blood test results, Insp. Tyler McMillen said it can be three to six months.
There were six Criminal Code traffic violations in September 2024.
In the first nine months of the year, the EPS had 79 Criminal Code traffic violations, with 50 for impaired/exceed-related offences, 20 for impairment by drug and nine for dangerous driving/other. The EPS handled 93 Criminal Code traffic infractions from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2024.
The five-year average is 118 crimes against the person, 291 crimes against property, 93 Criminal Code traffic violations, 25 CDSA charges and 5,932 calls for service.
When discussing financials, Blunden said the EPS was at 69.8 per cent of its expenses for the year as of Sept. 30, which he said is a good sign because they should be at 75 per cent. Deputy Chief Warren Morrical said the EPS expects to remain below budget and is looking at how to use the leftover funds next year.
He also reiterated that revenues were lower than expected because it hasn’t received grants from the provincial government, due to the timing of how the province doles out funding.
DeRosier asked if there have been discussions with the province on timing. She noted every department is facing the same issue.
Blunden replied the issue is partly connected to the three new positions the EPS has received this year.
