Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners Notes

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Same small group of people committing most crimes, says police chief

Officers have charged more people this year for crimes against property and against fellow residents, with the police chief saying it’s the same small group of people committing many of these offences.

There were 187 crimes committed against people during the first four months of this year compared to 159 during the same period last year and 118 two years ago, recent crime data shows.

Furthermore, there were 585 incidents of crimes committed against property from January to April compared to 517 episodes during the same period last year and 533 two years ago.

The Moose Jaw Police Service presented the data during the recent Board of Police Commissioners’ meeting, while Chief Rick Bourassa discussed the numbers during a media scrum afterward.

One local reporter informed the chief that based on research, nine residents have likely committed 433 crimes during the past two years. He wondered if the police also believed the same people were committing most crimes.

“That is pretty consistent around the world, certainly here and in other places. We heard about the (increased incidents of) assault police officer situation (earlier in the meeting). That was one person responsible for half of our

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incidents. That is fairly normal,” Bourassa said.

“It’s not a lot of people involved in many of the situations we deal with. So we do see the same people over and over again.”

Bourassa was unsure if nine people were responsible for most of the crimes but knew it wasn’t 400. While he didn’t have exact data, based on experience and anecdotal stories, “it’s a fairly small number of people who re-offend frequently.”

Increases in crime rates

The Moose Jaw Police Service does not like to see these increases in crime — decreases would be better — and would prefer if there were zero incidents, even though that is unrealistic, said Bourassa.

Meanwhile, there tend to be cycles in crime where the organization sees an increase in offences and directs its resources to combat those problems, he continued. It’s usually a few people committing the bulk of those crimes, so those crime waves decrease when officers intervene and arrest people.

The organization will continue to hold people accountable and track those numbers, while it will analyze national crime data in July to determine how Moose Jaw compares to other municipalities.

“And speaking with other chiefs — not only provincially but across the country — we’re all seeing these sorts of rises. And it will take some time to understand fully what’s driving those,” said Bourassa.

“We do know some of it can be influenced by the economy and by people’s resources … ,” he continued. “We do know that we’ve come through some pretty challenging couple of years with the pandemic and we did see some behavioural changes on a larger scale and less civility.

“We don’t know if that is going to continue, but we will keep watching that.”

The drug trade could be driving these crimes — although that’s been happening for many years — while much of it is connected to people’s need for money to support their addictions, Bourassa said.

The MJPS is working to halt the drug trade and trafficking and has increased its resources to respond to them, he continued. The public should expect to see the police pursuing more projects that apprehend drug suppliers and hold them accountable.

“But you’re absolutely right. A lot of that (crime and theft) is related to the drug trade. Everything’s got value to somebody,” added Bourassa.

Police board chair concerned about increased assaults on cops this year

The Moose Jaw Police Service has seen a 300-per-cent increase in assaults against officers this year compared to 2022, although one person has been responsible for near-

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ly half of those incidents.

There were eight attacks on police from January to April of this year, compared to two incidents during the same period last year and five incidents year-to-date in 2021, the most recent crime statistics show.

This past April, there were four such incidents, compared to two last year and one in 2021.

The police service (MJPS) presented the data during the recent meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners.

Supt. Taylor Mickleborough explained that of those four incidents in April, one was inaccurately recorded, so there were three assaults on police last month — all due to one person.

The accused assaulted officers when they arrested him for a weapon offence, while he attacked them again when they put him in jail and then fought cops when they took him to court.

“So quite a prisoner to deal with … ,” Mickleborough added.

“So, there is not an epidemic occurring here (of assaults on police),” said Police Chief Rick Bourassa with a chuckle.

Board chairwoman Mary Lee Booth said she gasped when she first saw the data about assaults on police, especially considering 10 officers have died so far this year

— some killed — while responding to incidents. This alarmed her, while she hoped there wasn’t increased hostility leading to these acts.

Another issue that concerned Booth was the number of mass shootings in the United States this year since there have been 192 mass shootings south of the border out of 208 days — almost one incident a day.

“Thank God we have (a) more civilized police service,” she said, pointing out Canadian police services are governed by the principles that English inspector Sir Robert Peel created in the early 1800s.

“Every time I hear things like this, I think with gratitude of the members that are serving because it is not an easy profession and they really are risking their lives. So it’s very humbling,” she continued, adding seeing the statistics about assaults on police gave her anxiety.

The MJPS lowered its flags when it learned of the recent killing of an officer in Ottawa, while it will raise those pennants after the funeral, said Bourassa. Moreover, he contacted the police chief of the Ontario Provincial Police to express condolences about the member’s death.

Bourassa added that Moose Jaw would send several officers to Ottawa to participate in the procession before the funeral.

New governance policy clarifies police board’s roles, enhances accountability

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The Board of Police Commissioners (BOPC) has developed its first ever governance policy that it believes will give clearer direction to members about their roles and responsibilities while enhancing accountability.

The board had conducted its regular functions in agreement with principles outlined in provincial legislation and regulatory requirements, but the new policy articulates and formalizes those processes more completely, a board report explained.

Some of those legislative and regulatory components include The Police Act, 1990, the Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Police Commissioner’s Handbook, and the Local Government Election Act.

Some sections of the new policy include the board’s mandate, how meetings should function, an annual board self-assessment, an annual performance appraisal of the chief and a code of conduct.

“It’s good practice for any board to have a governance policy that gives direction to the members. Even embedded in the governance policy is … a reminder that every year we (must) do a board self-evaluation and ap praisal of the chief’s performance,” said board chairwoman Mary Lee Booth.

The board has been performing many of these actions already, but having those activities written down “gives a different dimension” since it holds members more accountable, which is a good practice to have, she continued.

Booth commended Police Chief Rick Bourassa for putting together the document, saying he conducted the research and used the Saskatoon Police Service’s policy as a template. She appreciated that the document spelled out how operational meetings should happen.

“It was a long time coming to get this governance policy … ,” she added.

Commissioner Doug Blanc agreed that the new governance policy cleared up any remaining confusion about the board’s roles and activities since it provided clear direction to them. He also thought the board should look at the policy as a living document and review it yearly.

“But this is a perfect document to start with and I’m very pleased with it,” he added.