Violent offences down overall in Regina but attempted murder spiked: RPS

Violence against others is down overall in the City of Regina but police are dealing with more instances of attempted murder than they have in at least a decade.

There have been 37 instances of attempted murder in 2019 as of Nov. 30, according to the latest crime statistics from the Regina Board of Police Commissioners, compared to 15 in the same span in 2018 a 147 per cent increase.

"It has a lot to do with the prevalence of firearms," said police chief Evan Bray on Wednesday. "This is unfortunately, multiple times a week in our community where we see assaults happening."

Crime overall saw an increase of 7.1 per cent this year over the same time last year, mostly due to property crimes. The crimes against people, including attempted murder, decreased by 0.3 per cent.

Bray said a more severe charge will be laid in instances where a firearm is used against someone rather than fists or a weapon.

Meth and drug violence is also a significant contributing factor to Regina's crime rate because it's accessible, cheap and has a long-lasting highthat increases the risk of "irrational, high-risk behaviour," he said.

"When we're talking stats, we can't lose sight of the fact that these are actual people we're talking about," Bray said. "So, any decrease in [crime] stats are a positive thing."

Kidnapping offences also saw a spike in 2019, though not as significant as attempted murder; there have been 26 instances of kidnapping or forcible confinement, compared to15 between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, 2018.

Bray said domestic disputes factor into the kidnapping charges, and some cases involve parents who take their children without the consent of their legal guardian or other parent.

"We know that domestics are [disproportionately] high in our province and certainly in the City of Regina," Bray said.

"So, the fact that we respond on average to 17 domestic related calls a day, I would say that a lot of those types of calls really are probably wrapped into that number of kidnapping."