Crime is on the rise in Prince Albert.
That’s according to statistics released this week by the Prince Albert Police Service.
Compared to 2018, weapons charges were up by 47 per cent, robberies 25 per cent and drug charges also jumped 25 per cent in 2019.
Nevertheless, Police Chief Jon Bergen maintains Prince Albert is a safe city.
“Prince Albert’s home and I will always commit our resources in a way toward ensuring our safety and the public’s safety is number one,” he said. “I feel safe in this community, I believe our members feel safe in this community, we have been challenged with a number of violent offences but again we’re responding to them in a way to curb that.”
There was six homicides and six charges of attempted murder in the city in 2019.
This compared to two homicides and two charges of attempted murder in 2018.
Police say they responded to 37,000 calls last year which is more commonly seen in cities with a population of around 100,000.
According to Statistics Canada’s 2016 census, the population of Prince Albert is a little over 35,000 people.
Bergen also said the increasing use of illegal opioid drugs in the city is presenting challenges for officers.
“It’s (opioids) readily available. We’ve seen larger than average quantities seized and the cost of it makes it quite accessible. It makes it very much a challenge and we know it’s driving addictions. So, it’s a problem, absolutely.”
One area where infractions did drop in 2019 is in the number of impaired driving charges which saw a reduction of just over 18 per cent from 155 in 2018 to 127 last year.
Bergen would not confirm whether police will be seeking increased financial resources from the city to deal with the growing crime numbers going ahead in the new year.
Police also announced a major drug bust in the Prince Albert area on Wednesday.
Eleven people have been charged after a total street value of $224,000 in illegal drugs was recently seized from 13 different area residences.
Three of those charged are members of the local chapter of the FreeWheelers motorcycle gang.
Drugs seized include almost 600 grams of cocaine, a little over 2,000 grams of illegal cannabis bud and another 2,000 grams of individually packaged cannabis by-products.
RCMP Superintendent Ted Munro said there continues to exist a healthy black market for cannabis in spite of the fact certain marijuana products have been legal for over a year.
However, he warns buyers should beware.
“Obviously anytime you go buy anything off the street there’s an inherent risk in it,” he said. “Fentanyl, cocaine, numerous other illicit drugs can be laced with marijuana and the past has shown that when we get narcotics tested.”
Police say they also seized $87,000 in cash and three rifles, one shotgun and six vehicles worth an estimated $116,000 as part of the investigation.
(PHOTOS: Top, Prince Albert Police Chief Jon Bergen at a press conference to address the 2019 crime statistics in the city. Middle and bottom, some of the drugs and guns seized as part of a recent police investigation in the Prince Albert area. All photos by Fraser Needham.)