Central Saanich Police Service responded to 419 calls for service in July.
Officers dealt with a variety of incidents, including five cases of individuals who were intoxicated in public.
Like most months in the district, crimes and infractions linked to motor vehicles dominated; with four thefts from vehicles, three impaired drivers and 38 traffic complaints being investigated. Officers also attended 11 motor vehicle collisions.
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Police say over the month there were two break and enters, five assaults and three frauds. Reflecting the public’s diligence, officers also took 26 calls of “Suspicious Occurrence.”
Perhaps reflecting the rural tenor of Central Saanich, officers also gave assistance in five incidents regarding animals. There were also six investigations into missing persons.
One of the most dramatic calls involved the “dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.”
As reported in the News Review on July 12, a young man was observed on a motorcycle travelling at 120 kilometres per hour in a 50 kilometres per hour zone. New details have now emerged, that shed further light on the dangerous incident.
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The situation started with complaints from members of the public about a silver motorcycle regularly being driven recklessly, in the early hours, on Oldfield Road.
On July 9 at 5:55 a.m., Central Saanich police officers clocked the bike doing 120 kilometres per hour near the Keating Industrial area. Officers indicated for the driver to stop but, instead of complying, they say he accelerated off. An officer in a patrol car, with emergency lights flashing, attempted to stop the motorcycle but the motorcyclist instead drove around them. The bike then took off at speed, in the direction of Brentwood Bay. The police described the situation as being of “extreme risk to public safety” and chose not to continue the pursuit.
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Instead they turned to other tools and conducted what they called a “thorough investigation.”
Officers managed to identify the motorcycle and then tracked down the owner it was registered to. The motorcycle was impounded for seven days and violation tickets for Excessive Speed, Drive Without Consideration and Fail to Stop for Police were issued to the driver.
At the time, Sgt. Kyle Sims noted how the driver’s behaviour had put officers and the public at risk. He noted that reports from the public were instrumental in the dangerous driver being identified and his bike impounded.
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