The yearly crime stats for Regina Police indicate attempted murders, kidnapping, and criminal harassment have seen significant increases in 2019.

There have been 37 attempted murders as of December 5th, which was when the report was compiled, compared to 15 in 2018.

Chief Evan Bray said it’s something the police service has struggled with this year.

“It has a lot to do with the prevalence of firearms, so when we have assaults happening, and I’ve said this before, but, we have an assault that happens with a firearm versus a fist, the corresponding charge looks a lot different,” Bray said. “It’s usually an assault versus an attempted murder because a firearm, when used, can kill a person.”

For kidnapping, there were 26 cases reported in 2019 so far, which is a 53% increase from 2018.

Bray said while the percentage may be high, the actual number of incidents is relatively low with many being domestic kidnappings.

“So often, it’s parental custody where one person is supposed to return or doesn’t return,” Bray said. “We do see cases where it happens differently than that, but often times, there is a bit of a domestic flare to it. We know that domestics are proportionately high in our province and certainly in the city of Regina.”

Bray said drugs continue to inflate crime significantly.

“Meth, as you’ve heard us say before, is very accessible, is relatively inexpensive and is highly addictive as a drug,” Bray said. “The high lasts for a long time, and it causes people to engage in very irrational, high-risk behaviour.”

However, some stats show some decreases in 2019, including overal crimes against a person, controlled drugs and substances, and dangerous driving offences.