The crime statistics for 2016 are in, and one category of assault has Morden police chief, Brad Neduzak, more than a little concerned.

In the past year, the number of domestic assaults has risen to 44. That's up from 25 in 2015, a rise of 76 per cent.

Neduzak said this new number was troubling, attributing most cases to the presence of drugs and/or alcohol.

"We encourage the victims to report all incidents, first and foremost," said Neduzak. "And, if they're in a relationship that appears to be abusive, that they seek help."

While 44 cases were reported to police in 2016, national statistics from 2014 estimate that 70 per cent of spousal violence is not reported.

Genesis House, a regional women's shelter for abused women and their children, sees mostly women under 30 who have been emotionally and/or verbally abused. From January to December 2016, 59 women stayed at the shelter, and they often come with their small children. Last year 88 kids called the shelter "home" for a short time.

"We have really been stretched," said Executive Director of Genesis House, Ang Braun.

"Our resources have been stretched as far as they can be."

To understand precisely how busy the shelter was in 2016, something called bed-nights must be considered. A bed-night is any night when a person is sleeping in a Genesis House bed--10 women staying for 10 nights would be 100 bed-nights.

For women, the number of bed-nights was 1,006, and for kids it was 1,179: a total of 2,185 women and children spending the night at the Winkler-based shelter.

"A normal year for us is around 1,600 or 1,700. So this is higher, and it felt higher," said Braun.

The total, 59 women, is a little lower than normal; however, the amount of bed-nights is much higher. So, the stay was longer for each guest overall.

Morden police also reported that, apart from the increase in assaults, minor thefts (where the value of items taken totalled less that $5,000) dropped from 102 to 68. Only 10 bicycles were reported stolen last year, and thefts from motor vehicles plummeted from 22 in 2015, to eight in 2016.

Neduzak shared that in his time as chief, he's seen numbers climb and drop every year. The variation is nothing out of the ordinary to him.