Saskatchewan sees highest number of homicide investigations on record

WATCH: The Saskatchewan RCMP says it conducted 38 homicide investigations in 2024, making it the highest year on record for homicide files.

The Saskatchewan RCMP reports a nearly 30 per cent increase in homicide files from 2023.

According to the RCMP, officers worked on 38 homicide cases last year. There were 33 per cent more homicide victims in 2024 than in 2023.

“What we’re seeing is it’s sort of a deadly combination of, substance abuse, mental health issues, just kind of a breakdown that we’re seeing across society, generally speaking,” Superintendent Josh Graham, officer in charge of Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes unit said.

Graham says the high rate of homicide in the province has taken a toll on investigators.

“They really do try to do their absolute best to find closure, for families, we’re accountable to the families, the communities we serve. And that’s really our focus is supporting them. And that’s something our investigators take very much to heart,” Graham said.

This rise in homicide investigations has the RCMP managing their resources accordingly.

“We front end load our investigators to capture, and record as much evidence as we can, whether that’s physical evidence or witness evidence, things like that. So, it’s the first response, we that’s where we sort of put our focus.”

RCMP said when referencing the most recently available 2023 Statistics Canada data, police services in the country reported 778 homicide victims overall resulting in a national homicide rate of 1.94 per 100,000 people.

In 2024, RCMP say the homicide rate in their jurisdiction in the province was 7.2 victims per 100,000 people.

In northern Saskatchewan in particular RCMP says the homicide rate in its jurisdiction was 14.8 homicide victims per 100,000 people in 2024.

Superintendent Graham says they haven’t seen any new funding for homicide investigators.

“We really do have to draw upon, our other units within the major crime branch, as well as sometimes, some of the other assistance units. So, you know, we haven’t seen an increase, essentially, over the last three years, particularly, we move some positions around and try and added some positions to our major crime unit, but that’s all done existing,” Graham said.

He says that crime in the province has also put strain on other branches of infrastructure.

“Ever since the pandemic, we’ve seen just that pressure on the overall public infrastructure, really has caused that, lack of space and the pressure into the courts.”

The Saskatchewan RCMP says charges were laid against 36 individuals in relation to 2024’s homicide investigations.

CTV News reached out to the province for comment but did not hear back by time of broadcast.

-With files from Drew Postey