Police who work the front lines are concerned about rising crime rates in Newfoundland and Labrador, a trend which is emerging in other provinces as well.

Statistics Canada painted the numbers a couple of weeks ago. In NL, the total number of violent crimes rose from 7228 in 2015, to 10,000 in 2023.

Homicide rates ranged from 2 to as high as 8 in some years over the last decade, but extortion saw the biggest jump in numbers from just 19 reports in 2015, to 202 in 2023.

Vehicle theft rates were relatively stable between 2015 and 2021 at approximately 450 a year, before jumping into the 600s in 2022 and 23.

Shane McClafferty, Vice-President of the RNC Association, says recruitment and retention is one of the main issues he sees with the force. Call 9-1-1 and you will always get a police response but it ay take longer to respond to lower-priority calls for service.

McClafferty says officers had an excellent working relationship with the previous minister, John Hogan, and hope for an equally good one with new minister Bernard Davis.

He says members are still trying to navigate the workload. The association says they needs more boots on the ground.