Lock your car doors: That’s the message from the Squamish RCMP 2015 crime statistics.
Auto thefts were up 76 per cent in 2015 at 44 incidents, up from 25 incidents in 2014, according to a presentation to council at the committee of the whole Tuesday by the Squamish RCMP’s Inspector Neil Cross and Acting Staff Sgt. Jolaine Percival.
“This is one where the whole Lower Mainland has been getting hit over the last year and a half with significant increases in auto theft,” said Cross, adding a car can be stolen and then used in other crimes. “Messaging to the community on this is make sure you’re locking your vehicles, don’t leave things in your vehicles… and make sure it isn’t easy for those vehicles to be stolen.”
So far in 2016, from January to April, 12 vehicles have been stolen, Cross said.
Thefts from vehicles remained high at 118 incidents in 2015, but were down from 136 in 2014, the presentation showed. Shannon Falls Provincial Park parking lot remains a favourite spot for thieves, Cross said, even though RCMP members and community volunteers do patrols.
More education and signage were two of Cross’s suggestions to help reduce theft from vehicles at the parking lot. “But there’s only so much you can do,” he said.
Missing persons cases were up nine per cent to 72 in 2015, from 66 in 2014.
“The more tourism, the more people we have coming, the more people who go missing,” Cross said.
Violent crime went down 11.5 per cent to 138 incidents in 2015, from 156 in 2014.
Within the category of violent crime, sexual assault reports in the district were up 25 per cent to 10, from 8 in 2014.
Assaults with a weapon were down 32 per cent to 19 cases in 2015, from 28 in 2014.
Reports of domestic violence continue to trend downward in the district. In 2015, 44 instances were reported to police, while 53 instances were reported to police in 2014, according to Cross.
Robbery was up by 600 per cent, but there were not many incidents overall. Seven robberies occurred in 2015, up from one in 2014.
“Out of those included someone breaking into the Tim Hortons and actually robbing them,” said Percival. “This six that we actually classified as robberies were… where somebody is outside the vehicle and somebody goes up to them and assaults them and takes their wallets and keys.”
Different thieves were involved in each robbery, Percival said, adding the low number of robberies in 2014 was likely an anomaly for a population the size of Squamish.
Total property crime is down 17 per cent in the district to 624 in 2015, from 754 in 2014.
Residential break and enters were up 10 per cent to 42 from 38 in 2014.
Business break-ins remained stable at 45 instances.
In terms of traffic safety, impaired drug and alcohol infractions were down 20 per cent overall to 144 in 2015, from 181 in 2014.
Squamish RCMP laid a total of 727 charges in 2015 – up two per cent from 713 in 2014 – and fielded about 7,600 calls for service, Cross said.
The RCMP’s focus for Squamish in the coming year will be tackling road safety, property crime, youth engagement, substance abuse and domestic violence and prevention.
