Regina police chief discusses traffic, scams and purse-snatchers

As the seasons change, so do the types of crimes Regina police tackle.

That was the subject of a chat with Chief Evan Bray on the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday. He answered questions about a few different topics.

One of them is traffic enforcement, which Bray said ramps up in spring.

“We always get a lot of complaints, especially in springtime, around noisy vehicles, racing vehicles, speed, all of those types of traffic complaints. The roads are better and so people not only are the roads more, but I think they’re using more speed,” he explained.

“Our traffic (unit) really does focus efforts at all times of the day to try and curb that, if you can — nip it in the bud before summer hits because we know that it only continues to be a problem into the summer months.”

While officers are out patrolling, he said every-day people can be a big help in keeping the streets safe.

“Our officers do project work 24/7. Our traffic unit is always working … but the public can be a big help to us when they’re calling in these sorts of complaints. Oftentimes, they can give us a plate number (or) they can give us a vehicle description,” Bray explained.

Another crime he warned of is purse-snatching in grocery store parking lots.

“It kind of comes in waves,” Bray said. “This has literally been happening for years, where people will prey on someone who’s not paying complete attention. Maybe they’re pushing a cart into the store and they have the purse sitting in their cart. It makes it easy for someone who’s looking for a quick target to grab a purse, to grab a wallet and take off running.”

However, it’s a crime he said can be prevented with some thought.

“It’s really about situational awareness for people. If you’re going in with maybe just a wallet, keep it in your pocket or keep it concealed so that you don’t become the target for someone who’s looking for some easy cash,” he suggested.

While purse theft is an old-school crime, Bray’s officers are also working on high-tech crimes that can be just as dangerous, if not more.

He spoke about a scam that’s making the rounds, where victims are tricked into thinking a family member needs money.

In one Regina case, a couple was nearly scammed as the perpetrators used artificial intelligence to make a call sounding like their grandson.

“Sadly, open-source information is so readily available through Facebook (or) through Instagram. It’s easy to find out whether people have family members that live far away, or grandchildren, or even getting phone numbers and birthdates,” Bray said.

“These scammers will try over and over. Even if they make 100 phone calls and get two people in a day to bite, that’s still a good amount of money.”

You can hear the entire conversation between Bray and Morgan here.