The RCMP and City of 琉璃神社 officials are identifying property crime as the main reason behind a spike in reported crimes in 琉璃神社.
From burglary to vandalism, property crime is the most commonly recorded offence in most cities, according to the RCMP鈥攁 stat which certainly rings true for 琉璃神社, according to for 2018. Of the 14,684 criminal code violations (excluding traffic violations) in 琉璃神社, 10,017 of them were property crime violations, says the report.
Over the past five years, 琉璃神社 has shown a steady increase in property crime, rising to 7,231.81 per 100,000 in 2018 from 5,290.49 incidents per 100,000 citizens in 2014.
It鈥檚 this statistic that the RCMP points to as the cause of the increase in 琉璃神社鈥檚 Crime Severity Index.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no surprise that property crime continues to drive our crime rates here in the Central Okanagan,鈥� said Cpl. Jesse O鈥橠onaghey.
鈥淭his issue is not unique to just our area, and in most cases, property offences are preventable. We will continue to work together with our partners to take a proactive and analytical approach to crime prevention and actively target repeat and priority offenders in our community.鈥�
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Darren Caul, the newly hired director of community safety with the City of 琉璃神社, echoed the sentiment. He said it鈥檚 crucial to look at the context for statistics like these.
鈥淎 change in crime stats can be the result of a number of different things. It may be that citizens are reporting crime more often and it could be the result of targeted enforcement efforts, which is certainly the case鈥攊n part鈥攈ere,鈥� said Caul.
鈥溋鹆裆� is allocating almost 30 per cent of its taxation spendings to police services in 2019. Since 2015, we have added 23 RCMP officers and nine bylaw officers, four of those bylaw officers coming just in the last year. Those four officers are focused on foot patrols and bike patrols, especially in the downtown area and areas with higher rates of property crime.鈥�
He added few cities of 130,000 population also welcome more than 1.5-million visitors annually.
鈥淪o we need to keep that in mind when we talk about crime stats. It鈥檚 difficult to understand what is increasing and decreasing these stats.鈥�
While the Crime Severity Index in 琉璃神社 is trending upwards, the 琉璃神社 RCMP said the decrease in violent crime has been significant.
鈥淚t appears as though the largest increase in the Central Okanagan (5.6 per cent) was for non-violent crime, which I believe includes all non-violent Criminal Code violations, traffic-related offences, as well as drug violations and all federal statutes. What is important to recognize is that violent crime was down 18 per cent compared to 2017,鈥� said O鈥橠onaghey.
Caul said the message he takes from the statistics is 鈥渧ery clear.鈥�
鈥溋鹆裆� is a safe city,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat is reflected in our 2018 citizen survey, in which 87 per cent of residents surveyed said they feel safe in 琉璃神社.鈥�
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Statistics Canada鈥檚 data also showed another increase in possession of controlled drugs and substances. Possession-related crime has been on the rise in 琉璃神社 for several years but O鈥橠onaghey said that increase is due to an increased response to drug-related issues.
鈥淲e believe that the 琉璃神社 stats are high in this area primarily based on the RCMP鈥檚 pro-active approach to street-level drug trafficking arrests. The majority of local possession charges come as a result of arrests made for other offences and the possession is often a secondary offence determined during the primary police investigation.鈥�
The City of 琉璃神社 has taken a similar approach, increasing private security, downtown patrol teams and bylaw personnel, according to Caul.
鈥�(They all) contribute to being extra eyes on the street, increasing the reporting and early detection of drug-related crime. And of course with added RCMP, we have increased enforcement ability.鈥�
Rates of homicide were down to just one in 2018 from five in 2017. The lone homicide in 琉璃神社 last year was the death of 23-year-old Esa Carriere from Mississauga, Ontario. Nathan Truant, 26, and Noah Vaten, 20, both of 琉璃神社, along with an 18-year-old 琉璃神社 man and an 18-year-old 琉璃神社 woman were charged with manslaughter in relation to Carriere鈥檚 death.
More crime statistics from 琉璃神社 as well as across the province can be viewed at .
michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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