Police report at least 52 Sask. homicides in 2019

The number of Saskatchewan homicide victims in 2019 surged passed the34 tallied by Statistics Canada in 2018, to at least 52.

Official numbers aren't available yet from Statistics Canada for last year, but CBC News has compiled data from police forces around the province.

In Saskatoon, 16 homicides were recorded in 2019, and suspects have been arrested for 14 of the deaths.

In Regina, there were nine victims of homicide and police have laid charges in the first seven cases. The other two investigations are ongoing.

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Prince Albert police also marked sixhomicides in 2019 one of thesevictims was a two-year-old toddler. In November, police in Moose Jaw were called to the fatal stabbing of a 50-year-old the first and only homicide of 2019 for the city.

Beyond those locations, there were 20 homicides listed by the RCMP for 2019.

Homicides are tracked by RCMP detachmentand were listed as follows: Spiritwood, Blaine Lake, Pinehouse, Pelican Narrows, Black Lake, Melfort, La Ronge (3), La Loche, North Battleford Mun. (3), Rosthern, Prince Albert (3), Pierceland, Onion Lake, and Kindersley a murder-suicide.

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These cases add up to 52,bringing the number the highest since 2016, which saw 55 homicides according to Statistics Canada.

StatisticsCanada data showed that in 2018, Saskatchewan had the second highest provincial rate for the second consecutive year at 2.93 homicides per 100,000 population.

The rate of Indigenous homicide victims was second-highest among provinces in Saskatchewan 2018 with 11.2 per 100,000 Indigenous population, according to Statistics Canada.