By Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
Each year, Statistics Canada publishes data on the number and types of criminal incidents occurring across the country. They also calculate and release a Crime Severity Index, which is a summary measure of the volume and severity of crimes reported to police in various areas, provinces, and at the national level. In this index, all crimes are assigned a weight based on their seriousness, determined by the actual sentences given by courts.
Statistics have previously shown that Saskatchewan leads all provinces in intimate partner violence. This new annual report on overall crime statistics shows the province also ranks highest on the national crime severity index. Despite this, data indicates some progress, as the crime rate in Saskatchewan decreased in 2024. The report shows that break-and-enter incidents in the province remained relatively stable between 2023 and 2024, with a 2 percent increase noted year-over-year. This increase is driven primarily by break-ins to non-dwelling places such as sheds, outbuildings, and abandoned houses. In contrast, residential break-ins, which remain the most common type of break-and-enter, have decreased by 15 percent over the last decade.
According to the 2024 RCMP report on Annual Crime Statistics and Yearly Trends, released on July 25, 2025, over one-quarter of the violent crimes committed in the Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction are classified as intimate partner violence (IPV). The majority of victims experiencing IPV are in dating relationships with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Accounting for 60 percent of reported victims last year, individuals in dating relationships are more frequently victims of intimate partner violence in this province. When including those who experienced violence from an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, the total percentage of victims affected by a current or former dating partner rises to 81 percent across Saskatchewan’s RCMP jurisdiction. In comparison, 16 percent of victims reported violence in a spousal relationship, while only 2 percent experienced violence from an ex-spouse.
This trend is not new. Statistics from the Saskatchewan RCMP show that dating violence has comprised an average of 58 percent of all IPV victims over the past five years, consistently exceeding the spousal violence average of 18 percent from 2020 to 2024. Over the same five-year period, violence perpetrated by an ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend has represented about 20 percent of all IPV victims. “Dating violence is a consistent issue. Whether people have been dating for two weeks or two years, this is the largest group experiencing intimate partner violence,” says Sgt. Nick Smyth, who heads Saskatchewan RCMP’s Interpersonal Violence Outreach unit.
In 2024, incidents of assault topped the list of reported intimate partner violence crime types, with 86 percent of victims indicating that they had been assaulted. The next most common types of IPV crimes reported were criminal harassment and uttering threats, which accounted for 7 percent, followed by sexual assaults and other sexual offences at 5 percent.
Breach of privacy can also be classified as an IPV crime. In 2024, Saskatchewan RCMP officers responded to 53 cases of non-consensual distribution of intimate images involving current or former intimate partners. While 53 may not seem like a significant number, it is significant to the victim, and it reflects a 60 percent increase from 2023, when officers investigated reports from 33 victims. Over the past five years, the Saskatchewan RCMP received a total of 211 reports related to this type of IPV offence, with 266 reports received since it became a Criminal Code offence in 2018. According to the 2024 data from the RCMP, 91 percent of IPV victims in these cases reported being in a current or former dating relationship with the perpetrator.
A report released in February 2025 reviewing intimate partner violence deaths in Saskatchewan called IPV a “deeply pervasive issue.” Fifty percent of the cases reviewed occurred in rural locations, 32 percent in urban areas, 10 percent in the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District and eight percent on First Nations.
Jo-Anne Dusel, executive director at the Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS) said of the report at the time, “If we really want to change the rates and stop the violence from happening in the first place, we need to intervene with people who are at risk of using violence or are using violence in relationships.”
As of July 1, 2025, changes were instituted regarding detachment-district reporting, resulting in six RCMP detachments that previously reported to the North District of Saskatchewan now reporting to the Central District management team. The six detachments involved are Blaine Lake, Rosthern, Wakaw, Melfort, Tisdale, and Hudson Bay Detachments, and the statistics have been updated to reflect this change. It is important to note that the detachment changes do not interfere with, nor change the way those detachment areas are policed.
The Saskatchewan RCMP Divisional Operational Communications Centre (DOCC) serves a critical function in supporting the three Districts by managing calls for service, including emergency calls (9-1-1) from the public, and dispatching the appropriate police resources to designated locations. The DOCC is frequently the initial point of contact for individuals, handling an average of 266,000 calls annually from 2015 to 2019. However, in the previous five years (2020 to 2024), the total number of calls increased by nearly 100,000, resulting in an average of 349,000 calls per year. This represents a 45 percent increase in total calls over the past decade.
Moreover, violent crime offences have seen a 45 percent rise in the last 10 years across Saskatchewan. In the North District specifically, violent crime offences have escalated by 50 percent over the past decade. The Central District has noted a 45 percent increase, while the South District has experienced a 33 percent rise in violent crime offences during the same timeframe.
Throughout the past decade, from 2015 to 2024, DOCC operators have managed an average of approximately 4,600 Priority 1 calls annually, equating to approximately thirteen Priority 1 calls each day throughout the year.
If you or someone you know is experiencing dating violence, call 310-RCMP to report it to police, contact Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.saskcrimestoppers.com to share information anonymously. In an emergency, always call 911, where DOCC personnel can assist.