RCMP Use Crime Analysis To Combat Surge In Church Break-Ins

It could be easily called a case of nothing is sacred anymore as the RCMP in Saskatchewan has released a crime analysis report into the growing crime of people breaking into churches across the province.

As part of their regular crime work the RCMP also have crime analysts who look deeper into crimes in an effort to not only arrest people for breaking the law but also point out trends as part of crime prevention.

According to a release crime analysts “look for connections between crime and search for trends, hotspots and potential offenders.”

"We can flag crime patterns for specialized units to assist with," Monica Deters, a crime analyst with the Saskatchewan RCMP said in a statement. "Units like the crime reduction team, general investigation sections or even a gang unit."

In the area of people breaking into churches and houses of worship the crime analysists have found a trend that break-ins have taken a major jump.

The analysts were able to show that between January and November, 64 incidents occurred in 55 churches across Saskatchewan — an increase of 60 per cent since 2019.

With the knowledge about the growing trend of break-ins occurring at churches and places of worship the Saskatchewan RCMP used the information to go out and speak with religious leaders in communities to help them prevent further break-ins at their churches.

"Officers were able to create public awareness and engage the community and partners in the church community to help prevent further crimes," Hunter said. "If police are aware of a crime trend before it happens in their own area, they can be proactive and prepared and perhaps even prevent it."