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Public disturbance calls, prisoner rates down for month of January

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The number of service calls made to RCMP for public disturbances last month decreased by over 20 per cent from January 2017. But those types of calls – which include public intoxication – still made up over a quarter of all calls.

Of the 700 calls fielded by Yellowknife RCMP during the first month of 2018, officers responded to 268 mischief, disturbance and intoxication reports, a drop from the 352 recorded in January of last year.

January's figures were presented to Yellowknife City Council by division commander Insp. Matt Peggs Monday. Peggs' briefing also included the number of “prisoners” held at the “G” Division detachment for the month, a number that fell considerably from 243 in January 2017 to 171 the following year.

Calls for assaults, however, increased by 15 per cent, with 66 tallied to last year's 57.

Service calls for theft under $5,000 also saw a noticeable upswing, with RCMP responding to almost double the reports from last January.

Calls for drug possession matched last year's count, while RCMP responses for drug trafficking dropped from eight to two.

Peggs also provided updates for ongoing investigations and initiatives led by the RCMP.

The investigation into the Jan. 3 gun-point robbery at the Reddi Mart in downtown Yellowknife, he said, is still “very much” open and ongoing. Efforts to “increase visibility in the downtown core” resulted in 27 patrols in January – netting the seizure of seven liquor bottles – while an inter-agency partnership to enforce outdoor regulations saw officers hit snowmobile trails and fishing spots twice.

Along with a bid to boost “G” Division's presence downtown, the continued enforcement of drugs and gangs remains a priority for the detachment, as stated in a release from Peggs.

So too, the release stated, is the continued cooperation between the force and the Sobering Centre and the Street Outreach Service to meet the needs of frequent users of emergency services.