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In the two weeks that recreational marijuana has been legal, Regina police have not written any tickets for public consumption.
Chief Evan Bray said their focus right now is educating the public on the rules, with no date for when enforcement will begin.
“I think we need to make sure as a community, we’re doing everything we can to educate the community and I, as a police chief, am doing everything I can to educate members of our police service,” Bray said after a board of police commissioners meeting on Monday.
He said police officers still need training as well.
“So they can go out with confidence to not just enforce the law but to help people understand and interpret the law,” Bray explained.
As for impaired driving, the chief said legal pot has not resulted in a big increase in cases.
Police have yet to receive their Draeger 5000, the device that will be used for roadside tests.
Property crimes driven by auto thefts, chief says
During the meeting, Bray briefed the board on crime statistics for September.
Property crimes are up by 1.8 per cent, with 176 more reported incidents compared to this time last year.
Bray said the increase is mostly due to auto thefts, which are up 46.4 per cent.
“We talk about locking valuables and ensuring garage doors are closed,” Bray said of public education. “Even garage door openers in your vehicle. If it’s an unlocked vehicle and there’s a garage door opener in there, that could be a problem.”
There was a 6.9 per cent increase in persons crimes which include offenses like assault, robbery and harassment with an additional 140 incidents so far this year.
In September, there were 13 sexual assaults, bringing the total this year to 142.
The police chief believes the 27.9 per cent increase represents more victims coming forward, and not more incidents.
“We can’t just look at it as a stat,” Bray said. “That is a number of people who are being victimized. We have to look at each case as a victimization that’s happening in our community.”