Theft from vehicles, break and enters and drug-related violations were down substantially in Vernon over the summer months.
Drug violations dropped 22 per cent between July and September, compared to the year prior, according to third-quarter RCMP statistics released by the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP.
Theft from vehicles and theft under $5,000 decreased by 32 and 31 per cent, respectively — or 65 and 111 instances each. Meanwhile, instances of theft over $5,000 dropped 57 per cent.
Break and enters in commercial properties dropped 54 per cent with only 16 offences filed by police in July, August and September. Break and enters in residential properties also totaled 16 — a 59 per cent decrease from the year prior.
But of the 15 most common criminal offences reported in the summary, not all saw a downward swing.
Domestic violence stayed about the same with only two fewer cases reported from the same period the year before.
Liquor offences in Vernon were notably lower with a 45 per cent difference from the year prior — and while impaired driving was relatively unchanged, at 44 files compared to 2019’s 41, motor vehicle accidents nearly doubled over the summer with 102 files reported compared to 63.
Sixty-two impaired drivers were taken off Vernon and Coldstream roads by way of suspension or charge, according to the third-quarter report.
In total, criminal code offences reported between July and September were down more than 20.5 per cent compared to 2019, with a total of 1,891 cases in 2020’s third quarter. Property offences, however, were up more than 35 per cent compared to the year prior, from 836 in 2019 to 1,130 in 2020.
More than 28 per cent of the Vernon RCMP’s SEPTA (Street Entrenched Policing Target Analysis) files were reported this quarter.
The local RCMP’s report comes days after Statistics Canada announced crime in Vernon jumped 31 per cent in 2019 with a 46 per cent spike in violent crime.
READ MORE: Crime up 31 per cent in Vernon in 2019: Statistics Canada
READ MORE: Vernon petty thefts dip in COVID-19 quarantine
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