Murray Wood: Of Easter bunny bells and Juicy Fruit gum
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The Saskatchewan RCMP has investigated more murders in 2022 than in any of the previous seven years.
In a media release Monday, the Mounties said there were 39 murders between Jan. 1 and last Friday. That included 30 men and nine women.
The total included the 11 people killed on the Labour Day weekend on the James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby community of Weldon.
According to the RCMP’s figures, there were 26 murders in the province in 2015, 35 in 2016, 23 in 2017, 22 in 2018, 20 in 2019, 31 in 2020, and 34 in 2021.
“The statistics tell us that while the number of homicides that occurred in Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction dropped in 2017 to 2019, they increased again in 2020-2021,” Supt. Josh Graham, the officer in charge of Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes, said in a media release.
“In 2022, we’ve continued to see an increase in the number of homicides. The 11 homicides as the result of the September mass casualty (event) have certainly added to those increased numbers. With under a month remaining in 2022, we have already surpassed the number of homicide victims year-over-year in Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction.”
So far in 2022, the Mounties have investigated 29 homicide files, one fewer than they investigated in 2021.
The RCMP said there were 23 murder files in 2015, 32 in 2016, 23 in 2017, 22 in 2018, 20 in 2019, and 30 in 2020.
“In terms of trends we are seeing, I can say we’ve seen an increase in gang-related or -involved homicides — homicides that are often complex in nature, have multiple suspects and are difficult to investigate,” Graham said in the release.
“Our Major Crimes investigators do an outstanding job in balancing our response to newly reported and continuing homicide investigations and preparing them for prosecution in court; however, the increasing number of homicides has not been met with an additional number of investigative resources.”
The RCMP said there were six murders in the province in November, with one each in Melville, Waterhen Lake First Nation, Weyakwin, Hatchet Lake First Nation, Keeseekoose First Nation and One Arrow First Nation.
