The Regina Police Service (RPS) painted an encouraging picture with the release of its mid-year crime stats, with many trends either stagnant or on the decline. According to the report, Regina saw a slight decline in overall police-related incidents in the first half of 2026, with over 8,600. Parts of the report presented by police on Thursday morning included ‘crimes against the person,’ which was at its lowest mid-year total in a 10-year time period. Assaults are up three per cent compared to 2025, with level 2 assaults accounting for 44 per cent of the total amount. Sexual offences have seen an 18 per cent decrease from 2025, and robberies also saw a 16 per cent decrease from 2025. “There’s a number of factors with a growing city and the dynamics of our population and the demographics,” said Mayor Chad Bachynski. “I think it was good to ask the questions, and those are the questions that myself and my colleagues had here on the board. But [today was] really just to understand some of the trends that we’re seeing and understand really what the organization is and how we’re going to put resources towards those pressure points.” Human remains Other topics of conversation were human remains found in a Regina backyard, an issued warrant in fentanyl production, as well as an RPS officer being cleared in a 2025 shooting that killed a homicide suspect. The RPS received a lead of the victim, obtained the DNA, and sent it off for analysis of the person, Wayne Joseph Breed. “My understanding is, he was someone from Regina, and the family is still in the area, I don’t know more than that,” said RPS Chief Lorilee Davies. “Obviously, our investigators are doing a lot of digging to be able to determine those circumstances now, that led to the death and what those circumstances might be.” Fentanyl bust In terms of drugs, the RPS was able to provide a comment on their major fentanyl bust, which involved a group of people from Regina and British Columbia who were believed to be involved. Supt. Kelly Trithart told reporters the form in which the drugs are entering the Regina is changing. In more and more cases, raw narcotics are brought in and converted into usable forms locally. “The difference is, now they’re bringing in this raw form and they’re taking it to a place, [like a] conversion lab or a production lab where they’re putting additives into it. Different things like caffeine and different additives,” he said. “What happens is when they make that into that usable form here, and then they go ahead and disperse it. A smaller amount of that raw form can really create a whole bunch, a large amount of usable product.” The RPS says it is believed that the seizure prevented over 50,000 single doses of fentanyl from being distributed in Regina, with the approximate street value being over $500,000. Officer cleared On the cleared police of wrongdoing in a 2025 Regina incident that saw a plainclothes police officer shoot and kill a homicide suspect, Chief Davies said her officers and the service are relieved the process is concluded. “I would say that for our members, that’s never a situation that they want to be put in,” she noted. “We trust in the process and I think the guidelines speak to sort of the complexity of what officers might face on a daily basis and the decisions they have to make in a split second.
