Crime is down slightly in the District of Port Hardy compared to the same quarter last year.
Acting Detachment Commander Cpl. Stuart Foster appeared at the Aug. 9 council meeting to present the RCMP’s quarterly report for April 1 to June 30, which compares statistics to the same period last year.
Foster told council he was filling in for St.Sgt. Gord Brownridge who has been transferred. His replacement, Sgt. Wes Olsen from Lake Cowichan, is expected to arrive in mid-September.
The most noteworthy increase was in assaults which soared to 47 from 28. “It’s something that’s cyclical in nature,” said Foster.
“Hopefully over the year that will be level (with last year) or down,” he said. Causing a disturbance was also up dramatically from 37 to 57.
The don’t drink and drive message is still not getting out to some people. Impaired driving statistics doubled to eight from four last year.
Another area which saw an increase was intoxicated in public complaints which went from 89 last year to 95 this year, however, most of the complaints involved the same four individuals. “They are usually referred to mental health and addictions in the hospital,” Foster said.
Thefts from vehicles continue to be a problem, particularly in vulnerable areas.
False and abandoned 911 calls are still wasting RCMP time and resources. This quarter they jumped to 56 from 31 last year.
On the positive side, mischief, bail violations, and breaches of peace were all down. Foster is looking at sending the detachment’s statistics down island to an analyst to see what the prime times and locations are for criminal activities “to better allocate our resources.”