According to the Saskatoon Police Service's Annual Report for 2011, crimes against people in the city have dropped five per cent compared to 2010.
 
When it comes to criminal and traffic safety offenses, the report includes pie charts and graphs that provide a glimpse into what improved last year and what did not.

Crimes against people
 
There were 50 per cent less homicides in 2011, falling from 10 to five. Victims of last year's homicides include 28-year-old Jaron Jahnke, who was shot in a home on Avenue H, and 23-year-old Chantelle Cathcart, who was stabbed at a party.

According to police numbers, attempted murders also fell from eight in 2010 to five in 2011, resulting in a 38-per-cent decrease. There were also 42 per cent less kidnapping cases last year.

The largest category of crimes against people was assaults with 2,484 last year, only two per cent less than 2010.
 
Property crime

The city's east side received the most property crime cases last year at 5,044, compared with the northwest division at 4,355 and the central division, or core area, at 4,588.
 
Property crime rose by three per cent overall, with the most common offense being theft under $5,000.
 
The largest percentage jump was in graffiti. There were 536 cases in 2011, a 53-per-cent increase compared with 350 cases in 2010.
 
Other Criminal Code offenses
 
Saskatoon had 13 per cent more prostitution charges in 2011, rising from 165 in 2010 to 186.
 
However, there were 176 less drug-related charges than in 2010, falling from 951 to 775.
 
Traffic safety offenses
 
The traffic safety statistics in the SPS Annual Report shows more people in Saskatoon used a cell phone at the wheel last year while less wore seat belts.
 
There was an 85-per-cent increase in using a handheld device while driving. Last year, 1,928 tickets were given out--almost 900 more than in 2010.
 
The only category with a higher number of infractions was seat belt tickets at 2,716, which rose 36 per cent from 2010.
 
Five hundred thirty-two people were caught running stop signs last year, falling from 802 the year before.
 
It was a 34-per-cent drop--the largest of all the traffic safety offenses.

bmcadam@rawlco.com

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