January through December of 2024 saw a drop in crimes against persons in Thorsby, while Breton has seen a significant uptick in property crime.
However, over a four year period, Thorsby has actually seen a jump in crimes against persons, while Breton's property crime rate increase was more modest.
A report on policing in both municipalities was presented to Leduc County Council on Feb. 19, showing crime stats in both communities for the fourth quarter, which covers the months from January to December, going back to 2020.
In RCMP statistical reports, first quarter means January to March, second quarter means January to June, third quarter covers January to September and fourth quarter effectively means the entire year.
Thorsby RCMP's numbers show a 33 per cent increase in crimes against persons in 2024 compared to the same time in 2020, but a 36 per cent drop from last year.
Breton's statistics show a 61 per cent jump in property crime from 2023 to 2024 and a 13 per cent increase from 2000. Driving that stat is a 1,300 per cent increase in public mischief calls — police responded to 14 calls in 2024, compared to one call the previous year. Breton also recorded the same number of mischief - damage to property charges, laying 18 charges both in 2023 and 2024.
Drug related offences remained a minor issue in both communities, with no cases reported in Thorsby for the third year in a row. Breton saw a 100 per cent increase in drug trafficking cases, going from one case in 2023 to two in 2024, but saw possession charges drop from four to one in the same timeframe.
Assault cases in Thorsby trended downward while in Breton they increased slightly, with both detachments reporting seven cases in 2024. That's an increase in two assaults in Breton's case, but in Thorsby represents a drop from 10 cases in 2023 and 11 cases in 2022.
Break and Enter complaints in Breton increased to 19 from 12 last year and there was a surge in theft under $5,000 cases — with police responding to 28 cases in 2024 compared to 10 in 2023. Previously police had recorded 10 charges in 2022, 34 cases in 2021 and 17 complaints in 2020. Thorsby, by comparison, saw a small jump from 10 cases in 2023 to 16 in 2024.
Theft over $5,000 cases also saw an increase in both communities, though Breton received the lion's share of them. Thorsby saw an increase to six cases from three, where in Breton cases jumped from four in 2013 to 11 this past year.
Fraud is up in both communities, with police reporting 10 cases apiece in 2024. Thorsby had three fraud charges in 2023 and Breton had eight.
In total, Thorsby RCMP say they answered 1,560 calls in 2024 and Breton RCMP say they responded to 1,848 complaints.
Both detachments are operating with a short bench, reporting they are still aiming to fill a vacancy in each detachment. The RCMP report anticipates it could be "six months to a year down the road" before replacements are stationed in the community to fill the gap.
