Daily Herald Contributor
Prince Albert Police Chief Patrick Nogier provided an update on the City’s crime statistics during the Chamber of Commerce Lunch Speaker series on Thursday.
Nogier highlighted the various areas where Police have covered and worked on such as Firearms Strategy, Operational Plans, Women’s Commission, Crime Stoppers, followed by a question and answer session. He also talked a bit about how Prince Albert police make data available to the public.
“We have been doing everything that we can to try to have a website that provides outward facing, easily accessible information that at your fingertips,” Nogier said. “You can tap and see what is going on in your community or ward.
“We are working with the City to come up with some new mapping. I think (residents) will be very happy in the next couple of months at what you could readily have access to.”
Nogier also talked about property crime, drug addiction, and traffic violations during the presentation.
He said violent crimes have dropped by 15 per cent compared to last year. There have been five homicides, resulting in three arrests by PAPS this year. Robberies are also down in 2024 when compared with 2023.
On property crime, the statistics shows that there was a reduction of 9.93 per cent in 2024.
“The thing about property crime that makes it so challenging is making sure that you got dedicated resources that can focus on proactive initiatives,” Nogier said. “I will be honest with you: we will have to do better as a police agency in making sure that we can combat those tight situations.
“We are looking inwards,” he added. “I am challenging the executive team to come up with strategies and operational plans that will specifically address property crime so that we can have an impact in the community.”
Nogier also presented statistics that showed methamphetamine is the most common drug used in Prince Albert. He said the majority of users are from northern communities, and not from Prince Albert.
He further highlighted the challenges coming up in the area of Bylaw enforcement and said that discussions are ongoing with the City on this area to map out ways to be more proactive.
So far in 2024, Prince Albert police officers have dealt with 70 incidents where firearms were involved, with seven instances resulting in triggers being pulled. Police have seized 14 firearms were seized during those incidents, and 14 cases ended up in court.
Also Nogier stated that Provincial Firearms Laboratory in Saskatchewan is fully functional and PAPS is working closely with the lab to resolve the cases.
He concluded that the essence of these updates is not instill fear in residents but to be properly informed.
“It is also a message for you to be vigilant about reporting what you see suspicious activities,” he said. “We need to be vigilant as a community.”
