Crime and calls for police help were lower in 2013 over the previous year’s statistics.
The final numbers for last year are still not in, but crime stats provided by Campbell River RCMP for the third quarter of 2013 show a positive trend.
“The detachment continues to push forward with our crime reduction strategies,” wrote Insp. Lyle Gelinas in his report to city council, “and by taking some of our…prolific offenders off the the street, we have realized a minor reduction in calls for service.”
There were 349 fewer calls for police help last year (over three quarters) and most numbers were down across the board:
- Assaults down 296 to 262.
- Sexual offences down 21 to 15.
- Liquor offences down 626 to 590.
- Traffic collisions down 79 to 69.
- Injury accidents down 79 to 67.
There was also a slight decrease in property offences from 1,381 to 1,318. Here’s the breakdown of break-ins:
- Business up 29 to 35.
- Residential down 94 to 92.
- Auto theft down 42 to 24.
- Thefts from vehicles down 215 to 185.
Local Mounties dealt with a total of 2,785 criminal offences for the first nine months of 2013. That’s down from 2,886 in the same period of 2012.
Insp. Gelinas gave credit to the volunteers from Citizens on Patrol for their assistance in a variety of ways and the Restorative Justice Program.
There were 18 restorative justice sessions last year involving theft, mischief, assault and bullying.
One notable session was for the five young people who smashed the concrete picnic table located beside the new Splash Park at Willow Point Park.
The culprits were all identified. They paid $1,200 to buy a new table and wrote apology letters to those affected by their mischief, thereby avoiding costly court trials and possible convictions for those accused.