The third quarter crime stats are in.
S/Sgt. Barry Graham updated Cranbrook city council with quarterly and year-to-date crime statistics locally and rurally during a meeting on Monday evening.
Third quarter and year-to-date calls for service locally and rurally are all up slightly.
Person offences, such as assaults, sex assaults, assault with a weapon, robbery, and threats, are all holding steady with roughly no percentage changes. This year’s quarterly stats show 202 files, with 434 files to date this year.
Total property offences, such as thefts, break and enter, mischief and fraud, are up by 19 per cent, however, year to date is only a three per cent increase.
However, some of those specific offences are trending downward. For example, arson id down 57 per cent, from seven files to three, while thefts are also down by eight per cent.
Break and enters and mischief were up slightly, while incidents of fraud jumped 52 per cent.
Other criminal code offences classified as causing a disturbance, breaching bail conditions, firearms offences are up 19 per cent.
Drug offences are down 29 per cent.
Prisoners held in custody are down seven per cent.
Impaired driving offences and roadside suspensions are down with significantly with less files than this time last year.
Motor vehicle injury accidents are down 51 per cent, while property damage accidents are up 15 per cent. Alcohol-involved accidents are down 56 per cent from nine files last year to four this year.
Year to date traffic notices and ticketing are also down 16 per cent.
S/Sgt. Graham also said that there shouldn’t be any changes to policing locally and in rural areas given that the provincial RCMP is facing a $10 million deficit.
READ: Government needs to step up to address $10 million RCMP budget deficit: Morrison
“Right now, the biggest message is spending,” he said, responding to a question from a councillor. “If we’re looking at equipment or vehicle upgrades or big ticket items, we really have to go up the chain of command to establish why we’re cutting into the provincial budget. We’re fortunate here, we’re ahead of almost all of our equipment purchases.”
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