Property crime on the rise in rural Saskatchewan: RCMP

Property crime is on the rise in rural Saskatchewan once again.

That’s according to Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, the commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP. Blackmore addressed the issue during the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities convention in Saskatoon on Thursday.

Blackmore said there was a spike in property crimes in 2016, but the rate decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, she said, it’s on the rise again.

Theft has become one of the biggest concerns for officers over the past year, Blackmore said, especially when it comes to fuel.

“With the price of fuel, it’s becoming a hot commodity for thefts,” she said. “We’ve had a report of 61 thefts from fuel tanks and from jerry cans, and additional 12 thefts from actual farm equipment. So (it’s) a significant number.”

Blackmore addressed other issues affecting rural Saskatchewan, like long RCMP response times in some remote areas. While officers prioritize calls and try to respond as quickly as possible, she said weather and road conditions often play a factor, and it’s simply not possible to station police everywhere in the province.

Blackmore said one of the options being considered right now is a policing boundary review.

“Some of those boundaries were created in the 1950s and haven’t necessarily changed,” she explained.

Populations have changed dramatically since then, Blackmore said, so shifting some of the boundaries might allow detachments to respond more quickly to certain areas and improve response times.

Tim Brodt, a councillor for Edenwold and president of Rural Crime Watch Local 158, said one of the best ways to combat rural crime is simply getting to know your neighbours.

“Our group tries to have a ‘Meet Your Neighbour’ barbecue once a year,” he said.

Social media is also playing a big part in fighting rural crime, Brodt said.

“I believe we have over 115 people on our WhatsApp, so it’s quite a big network,” he explained.

Brodt encouraged anyone interested in fighting back against rural crime to start their own rural crime watch groups. The more crime watch signs people have on their properties, the better off rural areas will be, he added.

SARM president Ray Orb said there are some great initiatives aimed at tackling the issue.

“We’re working together with the RCMP to try and invigorate the rural crime watch program,” he said. “We have a new provincial association … We have 296 RMs — hopefully we get them all to join.”

Farmers and ranchers are also working together on crime watch programs, Orb said, along with urban and rural residents.

“No one knows the farms better than the local people,” he said.