Property crime up in rural Manitoba

Aug 15, 2022

The number of instances of property crime in the northern region is up by 37 per cent

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

The numbers of calls Manitoba RCMP has received for property crime in rural communities has increased over the last year.

By June 2022, Manitoba RCMP responded to 1,367 calls for property crime in the North District, RCMP data says.

This area of the province includes communities like The Pas, Snow Lake, Leaf Rapids and Moose Lake.

By June of 2021, Manitoba RCMP received 997 calls for property crime, the Aug. 12 data says.

This means between June 2021 and June 2022, instances of property crime within the region increased by 37 per cent.

Of the property crime calls, RCMP experienced the largest increase in theft over $5,000.

By June 2021, RCMP responded to 23 calls for this crime, compared to 39 by June of this year. This increase represents a jump of 70 per cent.

The number of arson calls rose by 50 per cent, from 16 by June 2021 to 24 by June of this year.

RCMP released these findings after a report Manitobans are concerned about crime.

A survey from the Association of Manitoba Municipalities showed 46 per cent of respondents are “very concerned” about property crimes.

In addition, 92 per cent of respondents are concerned about an overall lack of police presence. And 64 per cent of people who participated in the survey feel their municipality doesn’t have enough police to make community members feel safe.

And 88 per cent of respondents feel enhanced policing visibility should be a priority for 2022 and beyond.

The crime scenario in Manitoba isn’t all bad news.

Overall, the number of RCMP calls for service decreased by 10 per cent, from 20,975 by June 2021 to 18,976 by June of this year.

The North District saw its calls for service drop by 7 per cent to 6,634 from 7,159 between June 2021 and June 2022.

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