(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)
February 02, 2023 - 8:28 AM
Crimes involving the street-entrenched population in Vernon dropped by almost one-third last year.
Statistics released by the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP show a 30 per cent decrease in crime committed by the street-entrenched population in 2022, with officers dealing with 758 files.
The RCMP report shows a steady decline of almost 50 per cent since it began recording Street Entrenched Policing Target Analysis files in the summer of 2019.
In the second six months of 2019, police recorded 1,428 street-entrenched files, a number that has dropped significantly each year.
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While crime involving the homeless population has seen significant decreases, overall crime in the city remains largely unchanged.
Crime in Vernon dropped 0.03 per cent in 2022 with the Vernon RCMP dealing with 5,854 criminal code cases.
Property offences, which account for almost 60 per cent of all police files, dropped by four per cent in 2022.
The RCMP did see a slight drop in calls for service last year with the police force receiving 19,590 – a six-and-half per cent drop from 2021.
While crime largely remained the same, police did forward more files to the B.C. Prosecution Service.
Last year, 2,050 files were forwarded to the Crown, a 13 per cent increase from 1,816 in 2021.
The statistics show a decrease in the number of self-generated calls the Vernon RCMP dealt with the number dropping by 13 per cent.
These calls are a result of internal police work, and not simply responding to calls from the public.
While crime throughout the year remained on par, the fall of 2022 saw a 12 per cent reduction compared to 2021.
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