The Prince Albert police service is reporting a large drop in crime statistics.
According to numbers supplied by the department, officers responded to 1,071 fewer complaints in 2012 than the year before.
Crimes against people were also down 32 per cent.
Police chief Troy Cooper says the so-called “Hub” model that sees officers working with outreach groups and government agencies is working.
Cooper explains the whole point is to find out when kids and families need help before they find themselves in legal trouble.
He adds 30 per cent of the people police are dealing with aren’t from the city but they still have to operate on a budget afforded to them by Prince Albert’s tax-base.
At the same time, the situation was far less rosy for break and enters.
They were up 30.6 per cent while drug trafficking reports were up 34 per cent.
Cooper says he believes there is a correlation between the break and enters and drug infractions.
“We had reason to believe there were individuals, or groups of individuals, supporting drug habits or trafficking through compounds or business break and enters,” he says. “Sort of a more complicated theft.”
The police chief says drug trafficking from other provinces is also taking hold in the city as well.