Regina's 13th homicide of year marks highest total in at least 40 years

When police in Regina announced Tuesday the death of 29-year-old Ahi S. Ebrotie is being investigated as a homicide, they marked a tragic milestone: the most homicide investigations in the city in a single year, for at least the past 40 years.

Statistics Canada data going back as far as 1981 shows 2020's total of 12 homicide investigations was the previous high in the past 40 years.

With a month and a half left in 2021, Regina Police Service Chief Evan Bray said he and others, including elected officials and people from community organizations in Regina, are concerned about the rising homicide rate in the city. 

"These are not just stats.… These are traumatic losses where families are being broken apart, communities are being divided, and they have serious consequences," Bray said in an interview Wednesday with CBC News.

It  would be difficult, if not impossible, for police to be able to stop a homicide from happening in Regina, he said.

But what police can do is look at the elements and factors that have to occur for someone to commit a crime as serious as homicide, or to become a victim of one.

Though gangs are often thought to be a leading factor — and they can contribute to the homicide rate — Bray pointed to drug-related violence and domestic-related conflict as two of the leading contributors in Regina.

Domestic or drug-related homicides happen because of a culmination of a variety of social challenges people face within the city, Bray said.

Those social challenges are addressed in a variety of facets of police work, including efforts like community partnerships, he said.

"All of these things aren't necessarily being done knowing that they're going to prevent a homicide — they're being done to try and improve quality of life, try and improve all of these social challenges."

But even as police work on finding ways to address root causes of crime, the service is strained by this year's increase in homicides, Bray said — particularly the five that have occurred over the past two months.

Some of that stress comes from obvious places, like the amount of time and effort a homicide investigation requires, he said. But there are stresses that run deeper for officers, too.

Investigators also take a lot of time to build relationships with families, he said, which can leave them with a sense of responsibility to provide as many answers as they can, but that can be difficult when investigations often leave more questions unanswered.

The Regina Police Service, he said, does its best to ensure the workload is distributed as evenly as possible among its members without overburdening one area, section or person.

"The reality is when we have this many [homicides], especially this many in a short period of time — this last month has been a real challenge in our community — we have to make sure we're resourced in a way that we're setting our officers up for success," Bray said.