Moose Jaw Police Service recently released its Statistical Extract for February 2023.
Sexual and common assaults both saw a decrease this year. Sexual assaults have gone down by 36.4%, while common assaults have decreased by 70.6%.
However, assault with a weapon/causing bodily harm increased by 450%. There are 33 cases recorded for 2023, making a huge jump from the 6 cases reported in 2022.
"We're not seeing an increase in assaults," remarks Police Chief Rick Bourassa. "What we're seeing is an increase in severity, which we have noted."
Break and enters have decreased by 21.6%. There have been 29 cases this year, compared to last year's 37.
"We've done a lot of work with break and enters over the last couple of years and we were tracking increases in business break and enters," comments Bourassa. "Many of those were in storage facilities, so we will continue to watch that."
Thefts over $5000 saw an increase of 250%, with 5 more cases reported since last year's 2.
Thefts under $5000 increased by over 40 cases since last year, with the new number at 137.
"Many of these cases are situations where there was shoplifting and an apprehension," says Bourassa. "However, some of those are people getting up and realizing that something has been stolen overnight."
Meanwhile, crimes against the person declined by 4.2%, while crimes against property saw a 23.5% increase. Calls for service have also increased by 28.2%.