Violent crime in Delta was down again in the third quarter of 2020, according to recently released stats from the Delta Police Department.
As was the case in the second quarter of the year, there were fewer crimes against persons — such as assaults, sex assaults and robberies — last quarter than there were during the same period last year, with 185 offences recorded by Delta police from July through September as compared to 246 in Q3 of 2019.
“We’re very pleased to see violent crime trending downward,” Supt. Harj Sidhu, head of operations at the Delta Police Department, said in a press release. “Year-to-date, this category of offence is down 21 per cent overall, a significant decrease that reverses an upward trend from the previous two years.”
READ MORE: Property crime in Delta down, assaults up in third quarter of 2019
Commercial break-and-enters were up slightly, with 29 incidents compared to 24 in Q3 last year, and year-to-date statistics are nearly identical. Residential break-and-enters were also up slightly, with 41 incidents compared to 39 at the same time last year. However, year-to-date stats show offences in this category are down about 19 per cent.
Traffic collisions were down 25 per cent overall compared to the third quarter of 2019, with 232 either reported to or attended by Delta police. Violation tickets were also down, with 2,170 handed out in the third quarter, compared to 3,347 in the same time last year.
While crime overall has decreased, a few types of crime bucked that trend.
Delta police report a notable increase in thefts from auto in the third quarter of 2020, with 210 incidents compared to 169 at the same time last year — enough to boost this type of crime by six per cent year-to-date compared to 2019.
Also, incidents of cybercrime were up 15 per cent compared to the same time frame last year.
See how the third quarter of 2020 compares to previous quarters’ stats:
Second quarter, 2020: Crime, traffic violations in Delta stayed low through second quarter of 2020
First quarter, 2020: Crime and collisions in Delta down in first quarter of 2020
Fourth quarter, 2019: ‘Significant increase’ in the number of drunk drivers on Delta streets in 2019
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