The Port Hardy RCMP has released its 2020 fourth quarter (October-December) crime stats to the public. 878 files were opened during the fourth quarter, bringing the total number of files opened for the year to 3,704.
This amount of files opened was in stark contrast to previous years.
In 2016 there were 4,042 total files opened, 4,140 in 2017, 4,194 in 2018, and last year’s total was 4,469.
Acting detachment commander Corp. Martin Giguére presented the statistics to Port Hardy council on Tuesday evening (Feb. 9).
When asked to comment, Giguére noted the main reason for the decrease in files being opened was due to the RCMP “managing to charge a few social offenders that were causing a lot of issues, and by removing them from the community it made a difference.”
He added the RCMP has also been working together with the local Indigenous communities to proactively stop crime and that officers haven’t been issuing liquor violation tickets during the third and fourth quarter.
“I wouldn’t say that crime has gone down, less files opened doesn’t mean we have charged less people,” added Giguére. “We’re still as busy as we were, and being proactive helps reduce calls for service, which opens up time to find more criminals.”
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