The weekly report released by Portage la Prairie RCMP last week revealed a sharp increase in calls for service from the previous week. 

Larry Neufeld, the Community Media Liaison for Portage RCMP, says that weather is a contributing factor.

"During the wintertime, our call volumes actually decrease because people are not going outside causing issues or travelling. Right now, with the increase in temperatures, we're seeing a lot more foot traffic, we see more vehicle traffic. So, our call volume for motor vehicle speeding and driving habits increase."

The weekly report of RCMP calls for service had an increase of 21 per cent from the previous week, from 232 to 282.

Neufeld notes that the RCMP is actively working to curb the number of incidents in the city, but will gladly accept help from the community.

"If you see suspicious activity in and around your area, like people in somebody's backyard that you know shouldn't be there, please call the police. We'd like to attend and speak to those individuals, and the same with impaired drivers. The time of impaired drivers is increasing, so we'd like to nip that in the bud too."