Vernon RCMP detachment

(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)

VERNON - Property-related crime continues to plague the Vernon RCMP detachment.

From October to December 2016, property crime went up roughly 28 per cent compared to last year, Supt. Jim McNamara said in a report to local mayors.

Thefts from vehicles saw one of the highest jumps, with nearly double the number of cases. In October alone, there were 90 reports of thefts from vehicles in the City of Vernon specifically, compared to 47 during the same time in 2015. In November, there were 73, up from 42 the year before, and in December there were 37, roughly the same as in 2015 when there were 34.

Thefts from vehicles also spiked in the rural area of the detachment, with 43 cases between October and December 2016, compared to just 13 during the same three months in 2015.

In Coldstream, thefts from vehicles jumped to 49 over the three month period, compared to 24 in 2015.

Residential and commercial break-and-enters also climbed in numbers, hitting 100 over the three months in the City of Vernon, compared to 71 in 2015.

Officers have been able to cuff at least some of the people behind the spike in property crimes. From October and December, the Crime Reduction Unit apprehended and laid charges against four individuals accused of break-and-enters and other crimes, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the number of road safety check stops conducted by officers saw a roughly 37 per cent decrease compared to 2015, and impaired driving investigations sunk by nine per cent.

Last year was, overall, a busy one for the detachment. According to McNamara, calls for service have climbed every year for the past four years, but 2016 saw the single largest jump, rising about five per cent to 30,164 calls compared to 28,621 in 2015.

McNamara reports the City of Vernon was billed for 48 positions, the District of Coldstream five, and the Township of Spalumcheen roughly 2.5. The dog unit is down to one operational member, due to a member injury and a member on parental leave.

The full report can be read here, in the Feb. 14, 2017 District of Coldstream council agenda. 

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News from © iNFOnews, 2017