Kelowna Mounties believe they’re reaping the rewards of crime reduction strategies.
“The Kelowna RCMP Crime Reduction Target Team and Property Crime Units have been using crime reduction strategies for a while now and are already seeing great results,” said Const. Kris Clark.
“In mid-July of 2011, a prolific offender was released from custody and the Kelowna RCMP detachment noticed an almost immediate increase in the number of Honda car thefts in the city. Over a 47 day period, 39 Hondas were stolen. But, once that offender was back in custody, a nearly 72 per cent decrease in stolen Hondas was observed.”
That same offender was released again in mid-April this year, but this time the PCU assisted by the CRTT were prepared for his arrival.
“By targeting this particular offender, he was taken into custody quicker and managed to cause less overall work for the Kelowna RCMP,” he said.
“During his 23 days of freedom, 15 Honda cars were stolen, but that number dropped to almost zero once he was incarcerated.”
Not all of the stolen cars can be attributed to this particular offender, but the numbers certainly demonstrate how effective crime reduction strategies can be.
In line with our priorities, the CRTT and PCU will continue to target prolific offenders in an effort to reduce crime in Kelowna and increase the effectiveness of policing in our community.
