The Delta Police Department’s approach to reducing thefts-from-auto seems to be working, as second-quarter crime statistics show a 10 per cent decrease in offences since 2017.
In April, May and June, Delta saw 207 thefts-from-auto, compared to 231 during the same time last year. This continues a trend in decreasing thefts, as January, February and March saw a 36 per cent drop from the first quarter last year.
READ MORE: Delta property crime down, assaults up in first quarter
“Our management team really makes an effort to stay on top of any new trends in crime at a very local level, working with our analysts and staff sergeants, ensuring we have a good response plan in place,” Deputy Chief Norm Lipinski said in a press release.
“For example, if there’s been a spike in thefts-from-auto in a certain area, we’ll make sure our officers are not only doing increased patrols, but we’ll get them to do their paperwork out there in a marked car, rather than filing a report back in the office.”
This spring has also seen the number of traffic violation tickets handed out by DPD officers increase.
Over the second-quarter, police handed out 3,284 tickets — a 50 per cent increase over the same time last year. The first quarter saw an 84 per cent increase over last year.
These increases largely came before the DPD started its new system for traffic enforcement in June, which allowed residents to request certain locations for the department’s traffic section to target.
Any increases in ticketing as a result of that enforcement plan will likely be seen in the third quarter statistics, which encompass July, August and September.
RELATED: DPD tests ‘requested enforcement’ for traffic units
“Our officers’ focus remains on ticketing drivers for offences such as speeding and distracted driving at high collision locations, while enforcing impaired driving laws throughout the city,” said Staff Sgt. Ryan Hall, who oversees the DPD traffic unit and patrol support team.
“We do this in an effort to influence driver behavior, and hopefully reduce the number of collisions and injuries from collisions.”
That seems to have worked somewhat, as collisions were down about two per cent in the second-quarter compared to the same period last year. There were 288 collisions this spring in Delta.
In terms of other common crimes, Delta seems to be sticking close to 2017 numbers. Commercial break-and-enters saw around a three per cent decline, with 25 incidents last quarter, while residential break-and-enters saw a six per cent increase, with 54 this quarter.
Crimes like robbery and assault have also remained consistent, with only one more offence in 2018 than occurred during the same period in 2017.
SEE ALSO: Delta’s crime rate down for third straight year
grace.kennedy@northdeltareporter.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
