Please note all information below occurred within the time period above, unless otherwise noted.
Saskatchewan RCMP -- Your Provincial Police Service
Saskatchewan RCMP reminds drivers to dig out their winter driving safety skills. Much of Saskatchewan is experiencing its first taste of winter and Saskatchewan RCMP reminds drivers to be prepared and take care when driving on snow or ice-covered roads:
- Scrape all the ice off your windows before driving – if you can't see, you can't drive safely.
- Remove all snow from your vehicle, including from your headlights, taillights and roof.
- Slow down on snowy or slippery roads. Remember that some roads may be more slippery than they appear. Beware of black ice.
- Be gentle and smooth when you accelerate, brake or steer.
- Using cruise control on icy or snowy roads can be dangerous! If you skid, your vehicle will accelerate and rapidly spin its wheels as it tries to maintain a constant speed.
- Before traveling, check the weather forecast for both your current location and destination. If travel can be delayed during storm warnings, do so.
- Be prepared for anything: consider stocking your vehicle for the winter with extra warm clothes, candles, matches, non-perishable snacks, a snow shovel, traction mats, booster cables and a tow rope or chain.
Investigative Recap
October 17: Saskatchewan RCMP's Warrant Enforcement Suppression Team attended a residence on Avenue B North in Saskatoon, as part of ongoing investigation into the whereabouts of 30-year-old Johnathan Kessel. Kessel escaped from the Prince Albert Penitentiary on September 27, 2022. Officers observed a male on the property, who ran away and locked himself in a shed. After brief negotiation, officers arrested Kessel without incident. He was returned to custody at the Prince Albert Penitentiary.
October 17: RCMP Major Crimes investigating suspicious death in Denare Beach on October 14
October 17: Investigation underway after deceased person located near Maymont, SK
October 18: La Ronge RCMP had been working to locate 34-year-old John Sanderson, who was wanted on an arrest warrant in relation to a July 2022 incident. As a result of this investigation, on October 18, officers determined he was in a residence on Caroline Ratt Street in La Ronge and obtained a warrant to enter it.
With the assistance of the Saskatchewan RCMP's Critical Incident Response Team, the male was arrested without incident just after 1 p.m. Because the residence was in close proximity to local schools, La Ronge RCMP contacted the schools, who then enacted their hold-and-secure protocols while police arrested the male.
John Sanderson appeared in La Ronge Provincial Court on October 20 on the charges laid in the July 2022 incident: one count, resisting a peace officer, Section 129(a), Criminal Code and one count, flight from peace officer, Section 320.17, Criminal Code.
October 18: At approximately 4 p.m., Prince Albert RCMP received a report of a robbery. Investigation determined a disabled vehicle was parked on the side of Highway #263. An adult male approached the vehicle, pointed a firearm at the occupants and forced them to stay inside it. The occupants were later able to escape and call for police. No injuries were reported.
Officers immediately responded and located the male near the vehicle. They told the male he was under arrest and he fled into a nearby forested area. Saskatchewan RCMP Police Dog Services assisted Prince Albert RCMP in efforts to locate the male.
On October 19 at approximately 8 a.m., Prince Albert RCMP received several complaints that this adult male was on the Montreal Lake Cree Nation side of Little Red. Officers, with the assistance of Prince Albert Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan and conservation officers with the Provincial Protective Services Branch, searched for the male and arrested him without incident.
Cory Halkett, 32, of La Ronge is charged with: two counts, unlawful confinement, Section 279(2), Criminal Code; two counts, robbery with offensive weapon, Section 344, Criminal Code; one count, carry a weapon for a dangerous purpose, Section 88(2), Criminal Code; and one count, use a firearm in the commission of an offense, Section 85(3), Criminal Code. Halkett appeared in Prince Albert Provincial Court on October 20, 2022.
October 19: Pierceland RCMP investigating robbery and firearms discharge
October 21: Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crime Unit investigating death of child
October 22: Punnichy RCMP received information of a confirmed sighting of an adult male wanted on numerous Criminal Code charges on the George Gordon First Nation, SK. Punnichy RCMP conducted immediate patrols and located the adult male sitting in a truck parked at a local business. When officers advised he was under arrest, the male locked himself into the truck and made attempts to start the vehicle. Officers gained access to the truck through the window and made multiple attempts to arrest the male. The male continued to resist arrest. Efforts to complete the arrest of the male required the use of a baton and a CEW (Conducted Energy Weapon) deployment. Once the male was safely arrested, officers transported him to the detachment in a police vehicle. While on route to the detachment, the male appeared to be falling asleep. Officers contacted EMS immediately to check the well-being of the male at the detachment. The male was transported to hospital by EMS to receive medical treatment and was cleared for incarceration. The male was remanded into custody.
As a result of this investigation, 47-year-old Joseph Charles CYR has been charged with Resisting a Police Officer and Failure to Comply with a Release Oder Condition in addition to 16 outstanding Criminal Code charges. He is scheduled to appear in court in Regina on October 24th, 2022.
October 23: At approximately 10:30 a.m., Biggar RCMP received a report of a robbery at a restaurant in Biggar. Investigation determined a male entered the restaurant, ordered a sandwich, then approached an employee, advising he was armed and demanded money. He then fled in a vehicle with a sum of cash. No physical injuries were reported to police. Biggar RCMP immediately responded and shortly after, received a report of an erratic driver driving east of Biggar. Officers determined it was the same vehicle involved in the robbery.
Officers alerted neighbouring detachments and Saskatoon Police Service to be on the lookout for the vehicle. As a result of investigation, the male was located and arrested by Saskatoon Police Service at a residence in Saskatoon later that day. Lewis Dowling Scott, 36, from Saskatoon is charged with one count, robbery, Section 344(1)(b), Criminal Code. He will appear in Saskatoon Provincial Court on October 24, 2022. Saskatchewan RCMP's General Investigation Section and Forensic Identification Service and Saskatoon Police Service assisted with this investigation.
October 23: Battleford RCMP investigating report of armed individuals
Melfort RCMP seeking public's assistance in vehicle theft investigation. On August 7, 2022, Melfort RCMP received a report of a stolen vehicle. Investigation determined a blue, 2009 Jeep Wrangler with Saskatchewan license plate 175MDK was stolen from a business off of Highway #3, east of Melfort early that morning. Melfort RCMP have been investigating since. Surveillance video shows a white Dodge quad cab with a sunroof pull up to the business. A male got out and stole the vehicle. If you recognize this male or truck, or have information about this theft, contact Melfort RCMP by calling 306-752-6420. Information can also be submitted anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.saskcrimestoppers.com.
Incidents in Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction October 17 to 23, 2022
Please note: the statistics below are representative of reports received within the Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction. They are from the RCMP records management system and are accurate as the day they are collected. Crime statistics are regularly updated due to changes in reporting procedures, changes in ongoing investigations, etc. As a result, the statistics below may differ from previous or future published reports.
Divisional Operational Communications Centre (does not include calls for service by the public directly to local RCMP detachments)
| Calls for service total | 7387 |
| Highest volume of calls for service was on October 15, 2022 | 1333 |
| Reports of Impaired Drivers (RID calls) | 63 |
| Homicide | 0 |
| Homicides year to date (January, 2022 to last day encompassed in this report) | 32 |
| Sexual assaults | 18 |
| Sexual crime - other (invitation to sexual touching, sexual interference) | 5 |
Assaults
| Aggravated Assault | 5 |
| Assault | 185 |
| Assault with weapon or cauing bodily harm | 62 |
| Robbery | 4 |
| Firearms (use of in the commission of an offence, discharge with intent, pointing a firearm) | 10 |
| Kidnapping/forcible confinement | 5 |
| Harassment/uttering threats | 127 |
| Other persons offences (domestic or family dispute, criminal negligence causing bodily harm, extortion with firearm, mischief – danger to life, etc.) | 26 |
| Break and Enter Total | 122 |
| Number of break and enters to a business | 13 |
| Number of break and enters to a residence | 80 |
| Number of other break and enters (encompasses sheds, storage containers, unattached garages, etc.) | 29 |
| Theft Total | 251 |
| Other theft over $5,000 | 31 |
| Theft $5,000 or under | 178 |
| Number of theft of motor vehicle | 42 |
| Mischief | 594 |
| Number of mischief - damage to property | 157 |
| Number of mischief - obstruct enjoyment of property (example: unwanted, intoxicated person at a residence) | 437 |
| Bail violations | 144 |
| Breach of probation | 32 |
| Failure to appear | 23 |
| Disturbing the peace | 179 |
Reports of intimate partner and family violence
- Time period reported is quarterly.
- Data represents number of victims, as there may be more than one victim on a specific investigative file. An individual victimized more than once in a timeframe would be counted more than once. Due to common relationship types in intimate and family violence categories, totals should not be combined.
- Intimate partner refers to violence committed by spouses (legally married, separated, divorced and common-law), current and former dating partner, or someone with whom the victim was in another type of intimate relationship.
- Family violence refers to violence committed by spouses (legally married, separated, divorced and common-law), parents (biological, step, adoptive and foster), children (biological, step, adopted and foster), siblings (biological, step, half, adopted and foster) and extended family members (grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and in-laws).
| April 2022 | |
| Intimate partner violence | 371 |
| Family violence | 320 |
| May 2022 | |
| Intimate partner violence | 375 |
| Family violence | 385 |
| June 2022 | |
| Intimate partner violence | 362 |
| Family violence | 362 |
| Total intimate partner violence April-June, 2022 | 1060 |
| Total family violence April-June, 2022 | 1119 |
| Impaired-related offences | 85 |
| Number of roadside suspensions | 8 |
| Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle | 19 |
| Speeding (this does not include automated speed enforcement fines issued) | 1374 |
| Fines issued | 887 |
| Warnings issued (education-focused interaction between police and public) | 487 |
| Collisions | 292 |
| Dangerous driving | 11 |
| Fatal collisions (number of incidents, not victims) | 0 |
Non-offence Codes (generally, instances where Criminal Codes or Provincial/Federal Statutes aren't broken – for example abandoned vehicles, animal calls, school visits, property or wellbeing checks, etc.)
| Assistance | 383 |
| False alarms | 179 |
| Breach of peace | 120 |
| 911 Act – other activities | 216 |
| Suspicious person/vehicle/property | 220 |
| Mental health act (generally, police officers responding to reports of persons thinking about suicide, or people with mental illness and requiring assistance): | 196 |
| Non-suspicious sudden deaths/Coroner's Act (Every non-suspicious sudden death police officers respond to including reports of persons who died by suicide, natural, accident or undetermined. Specific breakdowns by cause of death are unavailable.) | 21 |