The year 2024 was an eventful one for both Niverville and Ritchot. That is also true of the crime that was recorded to have taken place.
The stats can be broken down into categories such as traffic crime, crimes against persons, and crimes against property.
According to Sargent Paul Manaigre, media relations officer for the Manitoba RCMP, this reveals much about local safety and the importance of having a vigilant police service.
The Town of Niverville
Within town limits, a total of 208 complaints were received by the St. Pierre-Jolys RCMP detachment under the category of traffic violations. These included reports of speeding and intersection violations, among other things.
According to Manaigre, charges were laid as a result of these civilian reports more than half the time. Additionally, 33 vehicle collisions were reported.
“Probably the bulk of these are hit-and-runs, is my guess,” Manaigre says. “[Somebody] was parked somewhere, saw the incident, and said, ‘I’m going to call that in.’”
Seventeen impaired driving events occurred in Niverville. Eleven of the reported drivers were charged by police.
For those who believe the RCMP don’t issue warnings anymore, Manaigre says that’s not the case. In total, 30 traffic-related warnings were issued in Niverville in 2024.
In the category of crimes against persons, there are several subcategories to consider.
One of them is harassment, intimidation, and uttering threats. A total of 33 files were opened, 24 of which involved uttered threats. Charges were made in 16 of these cases.
The next category is assault but doesn’t include assault of a sexual nature. In total, 59 incidents were reported and 36 charges were laid. Thirteen of these included assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm. Two perpetrators were charged with assaulting a police officer.
Interestingly, the stats note 13 “prisoners held in police custody” in 2024.
“I’m going to say this is mostly from the Niverville fair,” Manaigre explains. “You make an arrest and take them to St. Pierre to lodge them.”
There was only one report of drug trafficking, although Manaigre questions the legitimacy of this stat since it seems to him to be exceptionally low.
Another 11 people from Niverville reported being scammed for amounts over $5,000. An additional ten reported fraud under $5,000. It’s important to note that while these victims were residents of Niverville, the perpetrators likely are not.
Next up is crimes against property. Here, there were 34 incidents of theft under $5,000. This generally includes minor property theft and shoplifting.
When it comes to theft over $5,000, 12 incidents occurred. Manaigre says these are almost always related to motor vehicle thefts.
The year saw 73 reports of mischief. This breaks down into 44 cases of vandalism and 29 cases of obstruction of enjoyment of property, which Manaigre explains usually has to do with noise complaints.
Seven break-and-enter reports were made in 2024. Four of them took place at local businesses and two on residential properties. There was one incident of arson.
The RCMP responded to 93 false alarms last year, and there were 52 reports of suspicious activity in Niverville. Eleven persons were reported missing over the course of the year.
RM of Ritchot
In the RM of Ritchot, crime statistics were dramatically higher in some categories compared to those reported in Niverville. This stands to reason, in a way, since Ritchot has a somewhat larger population spread out over a much larger area.
As well, two major provincial highways pass through Ritchot. This naturally results in more traffic violations, many of them by non-local residents.
Case in point, a whopping 3,264 traffic-related incidences were reported in Ritchot in 2024. Almost 2,800 traffic charges were laid.
Of these, 116 were vehicle accidents. There was one fatality and 15 reported cases of serious injuries.
The report shows that 29 people failed to remain at the scene of an accident until the RCMP arrived.
Another 2,143 speeding violations are reported within the RM.
“This would most likely be because of our Traffic Services writing tickets in Ritchot,” Manaigre says. “This wouldn’t be just about complaints. Out of that number, 2,006 were charged, so that’s mostly tickets [given].”
Eighty-six intersection violations were reported as well as another 583 reports of non-registered vehicles or suspended drivers on the roadways.
There were 30 reports of driving without due care or attention, 18 of which were regarding cell phone use while driving. Fifty drivers were reported as impaired and, from these, 15 charges were laid.
As far as crimes against persons goes, 46 reports were made of uttering threats and harassment in Ritchot.
Twenty-six assaults took place, two of which are labelled as aggravated assault. Seven Ritchot area people were reported missing last year.
A total of 36 Ritchot residents reported being scammed for more than $5,000 and another 23 for under $5,000.
In terms of crimes against property, the RCMP report shows 66 cases of theft under $5,000 and another 45 of theft over $5,000.
There were 35 reports of mischief, 28 reports of obstruction of enjoyment of property.
The stats reveal 39 instances of breaking-and-entering, 24 of which were in connection to local business while eight were reported as residential.
There were no reported incidents of arson in 2004.
“We have another category that’s called [a] fire prevention act,” Manaigre says. “If we can’t prove it as an arson, we won’t score it as an arson. The proof is the hard part, so a lot of times we’ll just [categorize] it under fire prevention act.”
Weapons-related offenses also kept the RCMP busy. Nine of these offences were reported last year and included three incidents termed as possession of weapon for dangerous purposes. Another two were for unauthorized possession of a firearm and a final two for unlawful possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle.
