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Crime involving Vernon's street entrenched population was down by almost one quarter in the first three months of this year, while overall crime rates in the rates in the city increased by nine per cent.

Statistics in a Vernon North Okanagan RCMP report going to a city council meeting, May 2, show officers dealt with 209 files involving the street entrenched population from January to March, down from 272 in the same period last year.

Overall, the Vernon RCMP received 1,401 calls for service that involved criminality, a nine per cent increase from the 1,284 it received in the same period in 2021.

Property crime offences accounted for about 60 per cent of all crimes which is on par with previous years.

While overall crime rose by nine per cent the number of charges forwarded to crown prosecutors increased substantially to 631 from 435 – a 45 per cent increase.

The statistics show a large spike in residential break and enters with the RCMP receiving 33 calls so far this year compared to 12 in the same period last year - a 175 per cent increase.

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Thefts from vehicles remained largely the same while theft of vehicles dropped to 30 from 47 in the same period last year.

The number of assaults the RCMP dealt with increased by 21 per cent, and the number of cases of domestic violence increased to 37 from 24 – a 54 per cent increase.

The number of drug-related files dropped to 50 from 78, and drunk driving cases saw a significant decrease to 20 from 48 cases in the same period in 2021.

In total, the Vernon RCMP detachment received 4,473 calls for service in the first three months of 2022, of which one-third involved criminality.

The statistics list the 15 most commonly reported Crime Code violations that have the greatest impact on communities, the RCMP report states.

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