Port McNeill residents will finally be able to see crime statistics from their area of the North Island.
Port McNeill RCMP detachment commander, Sgt. Andrew Phillips, released their second quarterly report (July-September) on Oct. 24.
The North Island Gazette’s website seemingly contains no previous Port McNeill RCMP quarterly reports or annual reports, which could mean this report is the first to ever be released online for residents to read.
The request was made to Port McNeill RCMP to release quarterly reports back on Sept. 20. Phillips followed up by email, stating, “I have received your enquiry and am currently awaiting a response from our media relations on the matter. I will advise once I have a response.”
The detachment commander is typically the only RCMP personnel authorized to speak to the media, unless other police officers are given specific authorization, according to RCMP policy.
On Oct. 24, Phillips then sent The Gazette the town’s second quarterly RCMP report for 2018, after having stated through email, “I got word back from media relations and they have no issue with me sending this to you.”
Local RCMP, depending on the information request, may have to go through the regional media relations for Vancouver Island, usually Cpl. Tammy Douglas. The Gazette was unable to confirm whether Phillips requested approval from Douglas for the quarterly report release.
The four-page report stated that “The Port McNeill Detachment, in consultation with community partners, has identified the following Strategic Priorities,” which included road safety, positive impact on youth, crime reduction, aboriginal policing, and domestic violence prevention.
The quarterly report includes the Town of Port McNeill, Zeballos, Oclucje (west of Zeballos), Ehattesaht, Kyuquot, Sointula, Woss and other unspecified locations labelled “undeveloped areas.”
The detachment’s total files rose to 499 from 432 for the same period last year. Port McNeill had 364 police files opened during 2018.
The quarterly report broke down files into these categories for this quarter:
15 Assaults (2 in Zeballos),
0 Sexual Assaults,
2 Missing Persons (1 in Zeballos),
2 Break & Enter to Residence (1 in Zeballos),
0 Break & Enters to Business,
14 Mischief Complaints (1 in Zeballos),
13 Mental Health Act,
0 Shoplifting,
3 Theft from Motor Vehicle,
9 False Alarms,
5 Noise Bylaw,
6 Intoxicated in Public Place,
15 Breach of Peace(1 in Zeballos),
13 Unspecified assistance (2 in Zeballos),
18 Abandoned 911 (1 in Zeballos),
24 Motor Vehicle Collisions (1 in Zeballos),
0 Drug files,
3 Breach of Probation,
17 Cause Disturbance,
12 Impaired Driving.
Requests for comments were made to Port McNeill councillors Jay Dixon and Aaron Frost, who alternated between acting as council liaison for the town’s RCMP from 2014-2018. Dixon carbon copied Deputy Administrator Pete Nelson-Smith in an email, having stated: “I’ll let you take care of this request.”
Frost also referred The Gazette to the town office.
After a request for more information from Chief Administrator Officer Sue Harvey, she commented in an email that the town will typically “circulate it (quarterly RCMP reports) to mayor and council and let them decide if they’d like it as an agenda item.”
Mayor-elect Gaby Wickstrom, who sat on Port McNeill council in the past, does not recall what the official town policy was during her tenure about releasing RCMP quarterly reports to the public. She could not comment further on the issue.
However, Wickstrom did mention in a phone interview that she is open to discussing the release of future RCMP quarterly reports with council once she is sworn in. She also added she has no issue about releasing them to the public during her time as mayor.
She pointed out she was curious as to the history behind why the RCMP did not release prior quarterly reports to the public when Gerry Furney and Shirley Ackland were mayor.
Multiple attempts to contact Harvey for more information were made by phone and by email. The Town of Port McNeill has not returned any calls or emails to the North Island Gazette for comment on the Port McNeill RCMP detachment’s quarterly reports.
