A 500 per cent increase in robberies in the city is raising red flags for the Moose Jaw Police Service. 

According to the police service’s May statistic extract, there were six robberies so far in 2022, compared to only one during this same time period in 2021. 

Although the numbers are small, it is still worrisome for the police. 

“The majority of these have been solved and we will continue to work on any other reports that we do get. But no, we're never happy to see numbers like that increase,” said Chief Rick Bourassa. 

Of the six robberies, four were solved right away by the patrol members. Two were brought to the criminal investigation unit and were eventually solved. 

While it's believed that the robberies were not related, there was a common theme among them. 

“The majority of them appear to, unfortunately, be stemming from the drug trade or drugs are a factor in the robbery,” said Supt. Taylor Mickleborough.  

“It looks like most of them targeted money and drugs have been some sort of a factor. It's always concerning to us when we see violent crimes against the person, especially robbery.” 

Overall, there has been a 14.7 per cent increase in crimes against the person. There were 179 instances this year as of May 31, compared to 156 instances during that same time period last year.