(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

VERNON - The latest crime numbers released by the Vernon RCMP show a rise in the most commonly reported crimes in both urban and rural areas.

Figures show of the 15 most commonly reported crimes, the City of Vernon saw an 8.28 per cent increase, while rural areas showed a 26.7 per cent increase. These crimes include break and enter, theft over and under $5,000, impairing driving and motor vehicle accidents, among others.

The quarterly crime figures released by the Vernon-North Okanagan Detachment on July 23 compare figures from April, May, and June in 2017 with the same months in 2018. The reports states the crime statistics are a sampling of the 15 most commonly reported Crime Codes that have the greatest impact on communities and points out there are over 700 Crime Codes used by Canadian police.

Rural crime may have taken a larger jump than city crime in the top 15 crimes, but the figures still show crime in rural areas is a fraction of that in the city. In the second quarter of 2018 there were five residential break and enters in rural areas compared to 26 in the City of Vernon.

The report states there were 204 cases of theft under $5,000 in Vernon, down from 219 in the same period for 2017. Theft under $5,000 is still the most popular crime in the city. Theft from a motor vehicle was the most common crime reported in rural areas with 20 cases reported in 2018, over 11 for the same time period in 2017.

The report states in the second quarter of 2018, there was 9.64% decrease in Criminal Code offences as well as a 14.34% decrease in property crime.

Road check stops went from 39 in 2017 to 10 in 2018, almost a 75 per cent decrease. Alcohol-related traffic enforcement went from 84 in 2017 to 66 in 2018, a 21 per cent decrease.

The report also highlights two on-going investigations into shootings that took place in Vernon in May, and four new high-risk domestic violence cases. There is also 21 prolific offenders identified for monitoring in our area, of which 10 are in custody, but the remaining 11 are not.

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