Crime decreases as more residents stay home

As the number of people in Regina isolating themselves in the city goes up, crime in certain categories has gone down.

While Regina Police Service spokeswoman Elizabeth Popowich is quick to point out the problems behind local crime — such as drugs and poverty — are still very much an issue, some crime within the past week has shown signs of diminishing.

Between March 17 and 24, reported break and enters (including residential, business, compound and other) stood at 18 — nearly half of what it was during the same period of 2019 when 33 were reported. Robberies also halved, from four to two.

Auto theft was less than half what it was last year at this time, dropping to 13 from 34, while the difference between the number of thefts from vehicles was even greater, plummeting from 53 to 17. Mischief also dropped significantly, going from 57 to 22.

In all cases but the auto theft category, police also noted a drop during the week of March 17-24 when comparing to the week preceding it. In the case of auto theft, numbers remained approximately the same.

Popowich noted these numbers have not yet been audited, so there is a small margin of error.

She said drops in crime stats would certainly not apply to all categories. The reason, she said, is because drivers of crime remain unchanged.

“Addictions haven’t disappeared, conflicts aren’t magically resolved, poverty hasn’t gone away …,” she said. “It’s possible some crime isn’t being reported because it’s within private dwellings, but we can’t know for sure. I suppose it’s also possible some property crimes haven’t been reported because some people just find the prospect of reporting online too onerous. If that were the case, I would encourage them to try. We can’t investigate what we don’t know about.”

In terms of reasons for the drops in numbers, Popowich said some officers have been redeployed because of COVID -19, making for an increased police presence.

Opportunities to commit crime have also changed because of COVID -19.

“As an example, many people are remaining at home and working from home,” Popowich said. “Because of that, they’re able to observe what’s going on in their own neighbourhoods and on their properties. Simply being present reduces the opportunity for incidents of property crime.”

Another possibility is that people are worried about coming into contact with the virus. That includes people who commit crime.

They’re able to observe what’s going on in their own neighbourhoods and on their properties.

While all of that might help drive down residential break-ins, it doesn’t necessarily combat those at businesses. With many businesses closed, the opportunity for break-ins might be higher.

Popowich said police are aware of that, and are “directing more patrol attention to business districts” as a result. While there were no specific stats provided, Popowich said business break-ins are also down at this point.

“It’s important to note that things change, so we aren’t declaring victory,” she said.