Property crimes have continued to stay up and in fact are on a rise throughout Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.

A total of 299 property crimes took place in Maple Ridge, in August as opposed to July’s 286 instances. Of the total, 45 were break and enters up by two from July and up by 20 in June. This makes it the highest number of break and enters so far this year, in a single month. Theft from auto also went up with 78 instances as opposed to 70 in the previous month. Last year, there were 2,354 property crimes in Maple Ridge, including theft of auto, theft from auto, break and enter and mischief whereas this year, there already have been 2,116 property crimes with four months left until the year ends.

Crimes against persons have gone up as well in Maple Ridge. August saw 140 crimes against person, as opposed to 130 in July. Threats went up from 26 in July to 41 in August, and both, firearms offences and robberies went up from one instance each in July, to three each in August.

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In Pitt Meadows, August had one more case of property crime than July. August saw six break and enters, same as June, while thefts from auto went up to 20, up from July’s 10, highest this year. Property crimes in 2021 for the city have already surpassed those in 2020. All through last year, there were 371 property crimes in Pitt Meadows whereas this year, by the end of August, there already have been 413 property crimes with five more months until the end of the year.

Crimes against persons went down in Pitt Meadows, from 19 in July to 12 in August. The city saw its first robbery in the entire year and no gun offences in August.

When asked about the increasing crime rate, Ridge Meadow RCMP’s Julie Klaussner said that the rise was in reality an increase in reporting of crime.

“What we are seeing is an increase in the reporting of crime. As the year continues our analysts will continue to measure the actual types and occurrences of crime versus actual reporting rates. The RCMP’s priority is safety for our community and so we encourage the public to support police by reporting all crimes,” she said, adding that the RCMP hopes people would also make use of the online crime reporting option that can be found here: https://ocre-sielc.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ridgemeadows/en

She also said that while increased reports meant increased workload for the police, “it is crucial citizens continue to report to police so that we are able to strategically deploy our resources.”

Having said that, Klaussner also had some tips to make it more difficult for thieves to steal.

“We can make it difficult for thieves by following the 9 p.m. routine (locking doors and windows, pressing their car keyfob lock, etc.) and not leaving packages at our front doors are examples of how we can all do our part to reduce the opportunity for crime to occur,” she said.

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Have a story tip? Email: priyanka.ketkar@mapleridgenews.com