Break-ins and thefts rise in rural Prince Albert area despite overall drop in property crime

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“We go hiking, or we go for a drive, and we find vehicles, and we find stuff thrown out of vehicles that were stolen.”

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She said residents use WhatsApp to share information and keep track of stolen or suspicious vehicles and activity.

From January through October, RCMP recorded 983 property crimes across the Prince Albert rural detachment area, down from 1,093 over the same period in 2025.

RM of Duck Lake Reeve Remi Martin said residents near MacDowall have also raised concerns about theft.

“People I know that live up in that area tell me they can’t even leave their garage door open during the day because if anyone sees anything they come in and they steal it.”

MLAs and RCMP attended a community crime watch meeting in Christopher Lake in October. Martin said another meeting is planned for December. He said he hopes lawyers or prosecutors can attend to answer residents’ questions about the legal consequences of taking action themselves.

RM of Garden River

Residential break-ins more than doubled from August through October in the Nipawin RCMP detachment area, which includes part of the RM of Garden River.

Police recorded 36 break-ins across the detachment area in each of the two three-month periods. This year, 25 were at homes, compared with 11 last year. This year’s total was also 47 per cent above the six-year average of 17 residential break-ins for those months.

RCMP recorded 64 thefts, including 19 vehicle thefts, from August through October. That was down three per cent from 66 thefts a year earlier and 12 per cent below the six-year average of 73.

Overall property crime in the Nipawin detachment area fell 15 per cent through the first 10 months of 2026, to 696 incidents from 817 over the same period last year.

As paNOW reported in September, a letter outlining the RM of Garden River’s concerns was sent to the provincial and federal justice ministers.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell