Homicide, sexual assault among crimes up in Regina in 2021

Reported crimes in Regina were slightly up last year compared to 2020, but homicide numbers reached their highest level in over a decade.

On Tuesday, the Board of Police Commissioners in Regina will review the 2021 crime statistics, which indicate that the pandemic continues to impact crime trends in the city.

"Regina faced another year of COVID-19 waves with vaccine advancements, periodic restrictions, and remaining uncertainties," said the Regina Police Service (RPS) in its report.

"The question of whether Regina's crime rate will return to pre-COVID levels or continue to evolve into a new environment remains unanswered."

Last year police counted 18,552 reported crimes in Regina,an increase of three per cent compared to 2020.The pre-pandemic crime number in 2019 was 24,650, according to police.

Crimes against people, crimes against propertyand other criminal code violations are included in these numbers. Traffic and drug violations are not.

Crimes against people, crimes against property and other criminal code offences all climbed by two per cent over the previous year, RPS said.

The year-end crime statistics cannot be compared with other Canadian cities, since different jurisdictions may use different methodologies or reporting criteria, police said.

15 homicide cases in 2021

Homicide numbers in Regina climbed in 2021 to their highest level in over a decade, police said.

Last year police investigated 15 homicides in the city, four more than in 2020.

The victims in 2021 ranged in age from two to 52. The majority of them were male, with four being female, according to the report.

Police said 11 of the homicides seemed to be connected with so-called risk factors such as illegal activity, drug traffickingand gang association.

While the number of homicides was up in 2021, the number of attempted murders dropped to 20 last yearfrom 26 in 2020. Within the last nine years, 2019 had the most attempted murders, with officers investigating 39.

Overall, homicides and attempted murders havemore than doubled since 2012, police said.

Number of reported sexual assaultsup 70 per cent since 2012

Officers saw a four per cent increase in all reported assaults in 2021 compared to 2020, but the totalseems to have remained relatively consistent over the last 10years.

However, the number of reported sexual assaults has jumped by 70 per cent compared to the 2012 statistics, police said.

People reported 207 sexual assaults in 2021, a seven per cent increase from 2020, according to the report. There were122 reported in 2012.

The number of recorded robberies decreased by three per cent in 2021.Police said they counted266 robberies last year.

Despite the overall downward trend, commercial robberies at businesses such as convenience stores, gas stations and cigarette, marijuanaand liquor stores increased.

Officers saw an increase in reported arsons last year, with 315 in 2021 up from 247 in 2020.The average from 2012 to 2020 was 133, police said.

"According to the arson investigator, individuals breaking into abandoned houses and starting fires to remain warm or potentially purposefully igniting them was a pattern in 2021," said police.

"Several of these occurrences looked to be related to homelessness and substance use. In some cases, the same addresses were set ablaze several times."