Maple Creek RCMP figures: offence numbers fall

Posted on November 3, 2026 by Ryan Dahlman

By Marcus Day

Maple Creek News

The number of offences in Maple Creek has fallen significantly, second-quarter RCMP statistics show.

The July-September total was 123, 36 per cent down on last year’s figure of 193 for the same period.

For the year to date, the drop is even bigger, from 408 to 237, a reduction of 42 per cent.

Persons crimes for the quarter numbered six, compared to 17 last year, while property crimes fell from 31 to 19.

Sgt. John Phipps, commander of the Maple Creek RCMP detachment, said the statistics were probably close to the lowest they had been in a decade.

“We’ve seen spikes, we’ve seen low spots,” he said. “It really depends on the strength of our office, the number of members that we have, as well as the number of prolific offenders from our community that are in custody or in the community.”

His comments came at the October 28 Town Council meeting when the RCMP’s Q2 occurrence summary report was discussed. Also on the agenda was an investigation status summary report.

Councillor Betty Abbott said it seemed that Maple Creek was “in a good place at the moment”.

“It does look like things are less chaotic,” she said.

“There was a significant reduction over the quarter and over the year to date,” Sgt. Phipps said.

Councillor Mike Stork cautioned that numbers in the summary report were small; it wouldn’t take much to change the picture they presented.

“What’s your feeling in terms of say over the past five or 10 years? How do you feel the numbers are?”

Sgt. Phipps said the numbers had fluctuated during his time at the Maple Creek detachment.

He said the statistics reflected the RCMP’s ability to combat offences in the area.

Councillor Tina Cresswell asked about factors that determine the level of occurrences.

“In business, we look at trends and we are able to identify some of the factors that influence those trends. For instance, in 2020, COVID happened and we were able to identify the lack of income because of COVID and last there was a blip and that was because everybody was supporting Canada, that kind of thing. Do you have any outside identifiers like COVID that help you figure out how much you’re going to see in a year?”

Sgt. Phipps said the release dates of prolific offenders could provide an indicator of when crime might increase, although this could not be viewed as accurate.

“If we’ve got a swath of them coming out during a particular season then we can expect that our crime rate is going to go up.

“When we see them on remand or in custody, serving time, then we anticipate they’ll go down, but there is no way to accurately project those numbers.”

Councillor Abbott asked Sgt. Phipps to provide an overview of the detachment’s coverage area, and what statistics looked like on the highways.

Sgt. Phipps said the detachment covered an area of about 10,000 square kilometres encompassing four RMs – Maple Creek, Reno, Piapot, and Big Stick.

“We cover Highway 1 from Alberta almost to Tompkins and down to the US border, and a little bit north of Golden Prairie. Most of the stats in the different areas that I report on have remained fairly constant. Some of the stats for the RM of Maple Creek, which encompasses the largest section of Highway 1 that we cover, do fluctuate based on the number of members that are staffing the Swift Current Traffic Services Unit. When their numbers go up, more of them are in our area. They cover our highways more frequently; the traffic stats go up significantly sometimes.

“We’ve seen the overall stats. So, the stats here for the quarter, 123 occurrences over three months, one of the lowest for here. For the first time in quite a while, the RM of Maple Creek had a higher total number of stats, but of their 240 files, I think, close to 200 of them were traffic stops on Highway 1, so it isn’t like there’s a crime problem in the RM of Maple Creek. There has just been a lot of movement and interactions between members and the public on Highway 1.”

Councillor Len Barkman asked about the relationship between the sheriffs in the province and the RCMP detachment. He wondered whether they ever worked together.

Sgt. Phipps replied: “There is a little bit of overlap and I know that there’s an MOU (memorandum of understanding) in place and they do have a lot more interaction with the RCMP in the central and northern districts in the province, just because they’re housed out of Prince Albert, which is a significant distance from here. So, they really don’t have much interaction with us down here.”

He added that he was unaware of the working relationship in other areas. Requests, the need for additional RCMP members, and different types of investigations were determining factors.

“I know that they go out and work on warrant apprehensions and things like that as well just like we do, in their own uniform.”

Bike thefts/citizen’s arrests

Bicycle thieves are operating in town, Councillor Len Barkman told Sgt. John Phipps, commander of the Maple Creek RCMP detachment.

What should citizens do if they witness their bikes being stolen? Should they make a citizen’s arrest, knowing that by the time police arrived the thief would have escaped?

Councillor Barkman asked these questions at the October 28 Town Council meeting.

Sgt. Phipps advised against trying to physically apprehend a property thief, suggesting use of a cellphone’s camera would provide a better option.

“You have to be very careful with a citizen’s arrest and what exactly you’re trying to prevent from occurring.

“If it’s a property crime, there’s very little that you are able to do as far as laying hands on somebody. Telling them ‘stop’, telling them that you are witnessing them steal it, and pulling out your phone and recording it is likely a better option than trying to effect a citizen’s arrest on somebody who is taking a piece of property.”

He advised people to call the RCMP, provide them with a cellphone video, and let the police handle the incident.

Michelle McKenzie, mayor of Maple Creek, discouraged citizen’s arrests.

“I would not want to encourage anybody to be doing that, for their own safety.”

Sgt. Phipps replied: “Yes. When emotions get up and people take actions, sometimes they can go overboard and I don’t want victims of crime to be in trouble for going too far.”

Service dog

Maple Creek’s RCMP detachment has the use of a service dog when required, Town Council heard.

In response to a question from Councillor Betty Abbott, Sgt. John Phipps, detachment commander, said there was a handler in Swift Current with a police dog in service, which can go up the highway with officers.

Councillor Abbott said that years ago an officer in town had a service dog, which helped in catching lots of drugs on the highway.

Sgt. Phipps said the service dog in Swift Current could so the same thing.

“Yes, he travels up and down the highway and in the City of Swift Current and he covers the entire Southwest corner here. So, if we ever need him for tracking or anything like that he is available.”

Contact with schools

Councillor Holly Gutfreund asked whether the RCMP had had much contact with Maple Creek schools.

“The schools have been good,” said Sgt. Phipps.

“We haven’t had much to do with them in an official capacity.”

He added that officers would go to school to interact with students and do the occasional presentation in a classroom or wander around the school halls.

Has the drug issue changed?

Is Maple Creek’s drug issue worse, better or static?

Councillor Len Barkman asked Sgt. John Phipps for his perspective.

“I would say over the years it’s mostly unchanged,” Sgt. Phipps said. “I would say the drug of choice has shifted over the last 10 years, but I wouldn’t say the actual issue has gotten worse or better. I think it’s pretty much status quo.”

Councillor Barkman asked about the RCMP’s response to drug possession.

“You are allowed legally to possess marijuana,” said Sgt. Phipps.

“You’re not legally allowed to possess any of the other drugs that we typically come across whether that is fentanyl or methamphetamines or cocaine or whatever it is.

“So, it’s not typically a judgment call. There isn’t really an appetite in Canada to … criminally charge people for possession any more. It’s trafficking and production predominantly. So, typically it’s a seizure and an attempt to obtain information and that’s about it.”

Police receive compliments

The RCMP’s focus on road safety at Sidney Street School has drawn compliments, Michelle McKenzie, the mayor, told Sgt. John Phipps.

“Parents are appreciative of the officers,” she said.

“Glad to hear of it,” Sgt. Phipps replied.