Insp. Ryan How, detachment commander for the Battlefords RCMP, presents the second-quarter crime report to Battleford town council on Monday, July 21, 2025. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Kenneth Cheung

POLICING

Crime down in Battleford, but RCMP say repeat offenders straining front-line response

Jul 23, 2025 | 8:58 AM

The Town of Battleford saw a modest decrease in crime this spring, but RCMP say the data doesn’t reflect the full picture, especially as a small group of repeat offenders continue to dominate police resources.

At the July 21 council meeting, Battlefords RCMP detachment commander Insp. Ryan How presented the latest crime report, covering April through June 2025. While some categories showed improvement, he warned that officers are struggling to keep up with demand.

“We’re seeing some decrease in crime trends, specifically both persons crimes and property crimes,” said How. “I will caveat that by saying we’re not patting ourselves on the back… It’s coming at an expense.”

That cost, he explained, is time and capacity.

“Our members are spending the vast majority of their time arresting, re-arresting and investigating the same people over and over and over,” he said. “Within days or weeks, we’re right back to where we were, chasing the same offenders again.”

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According to the RCMP report, person-related crimes, including assaults, sexual offences and threats, dropped by 15 per cent in the town compared to the same time last year, with 23 incidents reported. However, assaults with a weapon or causing bodily harm jumped from one to six cases over the three-month period. How noted those incidents were targeted, not random.

Property crime was down 23 per cent, falling from 90 cases last spring to 69 this year. Break-and-enters and mischief reports also trended downward. Traffic-related offences dropped 33 per cent, from 43 to 29.

Despite those numbers, councillors said they’re hearing growing concern from residents, especially about suspicious activity and foot traffic near the river valley corridor between Battleford and North Battleford.

“We’ve seen a large increase in foot traffic along the river valley,” said Coun. Clayton Lazar. “We don’t want it to become a norm here.”

How said the RCMP would dedicate more resources to the area.

“That definitely needs to be looked at before there’s a foothold gained,” he said.

Mayor Ames Leslie said the situation of prolific offenders underscores how overburdened the detachment has become, with limited resources pulled into a constant loop of responding to the same small group of individuals.

“You could see the frustration in his body language, and you could hear the frustration in his voice,” Leslie said. “There’s a select few individuals or groups in our community that are consuming a large volume of the time of our RCMP members and that needs to change.”

Earlier this month, Leslie, along with North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin, Battlefords MLA Jeremy Cockrill, and Justice Minister and Attorney General Tim McLeod, signed a joint letter urging the federal government to prioritize community safety through meaningful bail reform.

The letter stated communities across Saskatchewan face increased risks from individuals who pose a serious threat to public safety but continue to be released under a bail system that they argue fails to adequately protect citizens.

“Crime was down,” Ames said, “but is crime down because there’s less crime being caught, or is there less crime within the communities?”

Read more – Battlefords launch drug treatment court as part of crackdown on crime and addiction; lobby for bail reform

The RCMP report also noted a rise in firearms-related calls, though How said some of those were misidentified fireworks that still had to be investigated as potential gunshots and were counted in the statistics.

Staffing levels are holding steady for the summer, he said, but several transfers this fall could leave the detachment short-handed.

Still, How said the detachment is working to build stronger partnerships with local organizations, including Citizens on Patrol and the Battlefords and Area Sexual Assault Centre, and keep lines of communication open.

“The goal of the detachment is really to open up the doors and make ourselves accessible and lean on the supports in the community,” How said.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com