Statistics Canada released the annual report on police-reported crime statistics on Tuesday. The annual report provides a detailed look at public safety trends nationwide, including in the southeast corner of Saskatchewan.
For the Weyburn area, the data from the RCMP detachments that serve the rural areas outside of the city paints a complex picture. The detachments in the Weyburn area include Carlyle, Coronach, Milestone and Weyburn. For some of the detachments, there were decreases in the severity and volume of crime, while others experienced a sharp increase in violent offences and impaired driving.
The data released by Statistics Canada includes what is called the Crime Severity Index, or CSI. This metric measures not just the amount of crime, but the severity of the crime, with more serious crimes getting a heavier weight in the report based on the actual sentences handed out by the courts.
The Milestone detachment, which covers an area to the northwest of Weyburn, saw its CSI drop by 11 per cent in 2024. Based on the data, this makes it one of the safest areas in the province. The Weyburn detachment, which covers Radville and Fillmore as well, saw a major improvement in its CSI, too, as it declined by 17 per cent.
To the east of Weyburn, though, the Carlyle detachment showcased a very different story as the CSI jumped by 24 per cent, rising just above the provincial average. The Coronach detachment also saw an increase, albeit not as sharp, rising by 3.5 per cent.
The Weyburn detachment also saw a paradox in its overall numbers. There was a 21 per cent drop in the total number of incidents when comparing 2024 to 2023. The Violent Crime Severity Index, though, jumped by 34 per cent. The difference in Carlyle was even more pronounced, as the Violent Crime Severity Index was up by 59 per cent year-over-year.
One area where the RCMP, along with much of the province, has paid attention to bringing numbers down is impaired driving, be it while impaired by alcohol or impaired by drugs. Here in the southeast, it has been a persistent concern and continues to be based on the numbers from 2024.
Of the four detachments in the Weyburn area, two saw an increase in Criminal Code instances of impaired driving. Carlyle saw a decrease in incidents, with a 13 per cent drop. Milestone also saw a drop in criminal impaired driving, falling by 26 per cent. On the other hand, the Weyburn and Coronach detachments both saw an increase in impaired driving, up by 16.7 per cent in both locations.
Discover Weyburn has reached out to the Saskatchewan RCMP to look at the context behind the data, and how it could shape or adjust the strategies, planning and resources for the southeast. We will provide an update once that becomes available.
The 2024 data shows there isn’t any one specific story when it comes to public safety in the Weyburn area. While the City of Weyburn saw a decline in the Crime Severity Index, as did the rural areas covered by the Weyburn-Radville-Fillmore detachment, the Carlyle area to the east of Weyburn, and the Coronach detachment to the southwest, saw increases in the CSI. Impaired driving instances were down for the year, but the Weyburn and Coronach areas saw increases, with the overall decrease coming as a result of lower impaired driving cases in the Carlyle and Milestone areas.