Thefts and robberies were the main topics discussed during the recent Board of Police Commissioners meeting, especially since the latter have increased 500 per cent year-over-year.
The Moose Jaw Police Service presented the July statistics during the Aug. 18 board meeting. The report showed there have been six robberies year-to-date (YTD) compared to one incident from January to July 2021.
Meanwhile, during the first six months of this year, there have been 12 incidents of theft over $5,000 compared to 10 episodes YTD last year, a jump of 20 per cent. Furthermore, YTD there have been 474 incidents of theft under $5,000 compared to 373 episodes during the same period last year, a jump of 27.1 per cent.
Deputy Police Chief Rick Johns acknowledged that “the only anomaly” with July’s data is the increase in robberies year-over-year of 500 per cent.
Supt. Devon Oleniuk agreed, noting investigators solved one incident that occurred at a drug store and, with the help of police in Medicine Hat, Alta., located and charged the suspects there. Meanwhile, another allegation of robbery was unfounded because Moose Jaw police did not have enough evidence to identify the culprit.
Police have solved the other four robberies and charged the perpetrators, Oleniuk added. The incidents ranged from a suspect stealing $10 from a street musician to someone robbing a home to feed a drug habit.
There are differences between thefts and robberies under $5,000, Oleniuk said in response to a question from Commissioner Clive Tolley.
Thefts don’t involve physical or verbal violence and occur when someone takes something without incident. Conversely, if someone uses threats, a weapon or physical violence, that constitutes a robbery.
Oleniuk remarked that someone who steals a purse is engaged in theft, but if that person pushes the owner or threatens with a weapon, that becomes robbery.
“The grounds maybe there for a robbery charge, but it will most likely in court be dealt with as a theft under $5,000,” he said.
People who hold up a bank with a weapon and say they have a weapon — even if they don’t produce it — would likely be charged with robbery, Oleniuk said. If someone holds up a bank but doesn’t make a threat, that usually falls into theft.
“Definitely, theft definitely outweighs robberies (in Moose Jaw) … ,” he added. “Robbery, generally speaking, implies some level of violence or some level of threat that is violence in nature. And then you take goods from somebody against their will. Theft is simply taking goods.”
Commissioner Doug Blanc said he understood what constituted theft under $5,000, especially since he hears many people complain about thieves stealing their kids’ bikes. He wondered how many bikes the police service has recovered and what they do with them.
“We have a large supply of found bikes that we suspect are stolen, that are just abandoned on the street,” said Johns. “We aren’t often able to match up to the person who lost the bike. Sometimes they don’t report them. Sometimes they (the bikes) don’t have identifying markers on them to be able to do so.”
If owners don’t come forward to identify their property, then the police service keeps the bikes for a while before disposing of them, he added.
The next Board of Police Commissioners meeting is Thursday, Sept. 15.
