Busy bars, busy streets have MHPS working harder

By LAUREN THOMSON Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on August 4, 2021.

lthomson@medicinehatnews.com

Medicine Hat Police Service reported that this past long weekend was a little busier than the August long weekend of 2020.

Ryan Thorburn, staff sergeant with the patrol section of the MHPS, said they received about 30 more service calls this year.

“This year we had about 383 calls for service over this August long weekend,” said Thorburn. “I looked back to last year and we only had about 354 calls for service. We also had several assaults, thefts, break and enters, multiple assist EMS’s or sometimes suicidal complaints.”

Thorburn also reported they had multiple bail violations, where police had to go intervene and make sure the individual was following the conditions the court had put on them.

Thorburn says, as a whole, this summer seems to have picked up in comparison with last year’s.

“Now that the bars are open, we are definitely seeing an increase of calls at the licensed premise,” Thorburn said. “(These are) things that some of our new recruits haven’t even seen up until now and they’re actually just starting to learn how to deal with those situations. I think it’s a real eye opener to some, going to these calls and seeing the amount of people that are there and what is actually occurring late in the evening.”

Thorburn also noted that traffic is becoming a real concern and police will be looking into enforcement to slow people down and hopefully prevent some of the accidents that are happening.

“The world is a busy place and people get busy in their lives,” Thorburn said. “We understand it but it’s best to give yourself just a little more time to try and get there.

“I recommend that people plan ahead, know your routes before you go and just try to slow down and keep everybody safe. There’s lots of highway construction out there and tons of kids out playing and we just want everyone to have a safe summer.”

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