Regina crime statistics show mostly small increases in 2021
CBC
Reported crimes in Regina were slightly up last year compared to 2020, but homicide numbers reached their highest level in over a decade.
On Tuesday, the Board of Police Commissioners in Regina will review the 2021 crime statistics, which indicate that the pandemic continues to impact crime trends in the city.
"Regina faced another year of COVID-19 waves with vaccine advancements, periodic restrictions, and remaining uncertainties," said the Regina Police Service (RPS) in its report.
"The question of whether Regina's crime rate will return to pre-COVID levels or continue to evolve into a new environment remains unanswered."
Last year police counted 18,552 reported crimes in Regina, an increase of three per cent compared to 2020. The pre-pandemic crime number in 2019 was 24,650, according to police.
Crimes against people, crimes against property and other criminal code violations are included in these numbers. Traffic and drug violations are not.
Crimes against people, crimes against property and other criminal code offences all climbed by two per cent over the previous year, RPS said.
The year-end crime statistics cannot be compared with other Canadian cities, since different jurisdictions may use different methodologies or reporting criteria, police said.
Homicide numbers in Regina climbed in 2021 to their highest level in over a decade, police said.
Last year police investigated 15 homicides in the city, four more than in 2020.
The victims in 2021 ranged in age from two to 52. The majority of them were male, with four being female, according to the report.
Police said 11 of the homicides seemed to be connected with so-called risk factors such as illegal activity, drug trafficking and gang association.
While the number of homicides was up in 2021, the number of attempted murders dropped to 20 last year from 26 in 2020. Within the last nine years, 2019 had the most attempted murders, with officers investigating 39.
Overall, homicides and attempted murders have more than doubled since 2012, police said.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.
Prince Rupert, B.C., residents are celebrating the holidays this year with coastal flair.
In the four years Chelsey Simmonds has worked at the Eva Rothwell Centre, she has seen the need increase every year at the centre’s community food pantry.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.
Acute Care Alberta has extended its contract for another year with a private surgical facility at the centre of probes into health procurement and contracting.
As food bank use continues to climb across the province, front-line workers in Thunder Bay, Ont., are working to improve both food security and education.
More ads could soon be coming to Toronto’s subway system.
The driver wanted in connection with a fatal hit and run on Highway 401 earlier this week has been identified, police say.
There are mixed feelings about the proposed Grays Bay road and port project, among people who live in nearby communities.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse and includes graphic content.
Provincial police in Lambton County have charged a 23-year-old man with second degree murder following a death investigation that began this past Saturday.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is forming a working group to tackle what it calls systemic issues in the justice system, but answers or solutions could still be months away.
A woman has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death in a 2024 fatal hit and run in Truro, N.S., where the victim was dragged down the street, a case that went unsolved for more than six months.