Regina's gun violence shows steady rise to highest recorded levels in 2018
Gun violence was at the highest-ever level Regina in 2018, a steadily upward trend fuelled by drugs, gangs and poverty, according to Regina Police Service.
"People are using and selling drugs at a higher rate than we've seen in the past," said Amy Balfour, RPS manager of strategic services, noting drugs are not a new problem.
"But methamphetamine, cocaine and even now fentanyl have changed the game. So this is not going to change overnight."
Balfour, who prepared the firearms report for RPS, said that in the past, violent gun offences would average somewhere between 33 and 50 reported cases in a year.
The last few years have shown a steady increase, and 2018 saw 151 reported offences.
Violent gun offences were up 25 per cent from 2017, and the number of victims injured by firearms was also up by 41 per cent from 2017.
Firearm offences can be seen across the city, but the city's central area sees the highest violence and most severe violence, she notes.
Statistics Canada puts out a report comparing cities' gun violence across Canada each summer, but Balfour said that she's hearing from her colleagues across the country that gun violence is increasing and it's a Canada-wide problem.
She said current synthetic drugs are more severe, addictive and make people more unpredictable than drugs in the past, while guns are also more readily available than they used to be.
"It's a terrible combination," she said.
"This is a social problem that expands beyond our borders. It's across the country. Until we can address those social issues better, this won't change."
