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(KIM ANDERSON / iNFOnews.ca)

Crime in Vernon involving the street-entrenched population was down by more than one fifth in 2021, while crime across the city saw a slight increase.

Figures released by the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP show police logged 1,081 street-entrenched crime files last year, a 22 per cent reduction from 2020.

The number of street-entrenched crime files is down by 24 per cent compared to 2019 when the Vernon RCMP began registering the files in the June of that year.

The year-end Vernon RCMP report shows overall crime in the city rose by three per cent, but is an 11 per cent decrease from 2019.

Property offences account for 60 per cent of all crimes reported, which is on par with 2020.

The Vernon RCMP policing report shows the detachment received 20,958 calls from service of which 5,875 were related to criminal activity. The number of calls received is an eight per cent increase from the year before.

The statistics show a 45 per cent increase in the number of self-generated calls the Vernon RCMP dealt with. These calls are a result of internal police work, and not simply responding to calls from the public.

The end-of-year report also shows that RCMP took 43 impaired drivers off the road in the Vernon and Coldstream area and issued 441 tickets for various driving infractions.

RCMP identified 13 prolific offenders that cause a disproportionate amount of crime in the area. Of the 13 identified, five are in custody with the remaining eight out in the community.

While crime overall only increased a touch in 2021, the last three months of the year saw a significant increase in the 10 most commonly reported crimes from that of 2020.

Crime was up by 32 per cent in the last quarter of 2021 compared to the year before.

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