RCMP calls for service decline, offences rise in 2023

Apr 8, 2024 | 6:00 AM

Police in Vernon responded to fewer calls, but saw more offences to end 2023.

The fourth quarter report from the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP said officers responded to 4,189 calls for service within the City of Vernon in the final three months of 2023, noting there were also 1,346 criminal code and 795 property offences during that time.

The calls for service were down by 8.8 per cent from the same quarter of 2022, though criminal code violations were up by 2.4 per cent and property offences spiked by 13.8 per cent.

As of the end of 2023, a total of 18,686 calls for service were reported within Vernon, along with 6,051 criminal code violations and 3,437 property offences.

In total, calls fore service were down by 4.6 per cent on an annual basis. However, criminal code violations were up by 3.3 per cent and property offences climbed 1.1 per cent annually.

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Of the 4,189 files the RCMP responded to in Vernon, there were 282 theft under $5,000; 178 assaults, including domestic violence; 100 motor vehicle accidents; 72 thefts from vehicles; 49 theft of vehicles; 31 impaired drivers; 23 sex offences; 20 commercial break and enters; and 14 residential break and enters.

Comparing those figures to the same period of 2023, cases of assaults, including domestic violence, sex offences, theft of vehicles, and theft from vehicle were all up.

The District of Coldstream saw 321 calls for service in Q4, which was unchanged on a comparison to the same period of 2022.

There were 58 criminal code violations in Coldstream during that period, which was up 16 per cent, however property offences declined by 21.4 per cent with only 22 reported in the final three months of the year.

In total, Coldstream saw 1,332 calls for service, 293 criminal code violations and 147 property offences. Those figures were down by 5.7 per cent, 6.6. per cent, and 21.8 per cent, respectively, from the 2022 totals.

Meanwhile, Vernon Rural saw 381 calls for service in Q4, along with 63 criminal code violations and 36 property offences.

Calls for service were down 7.7 per cent, though criminal activity was up 16.6 per cent and property offences rose 33.3 per cent.

Unlike Coldstream, Vernon Rural saw all categories increase in 2024 with a total of 1,761 calls for service (up 1.7 per cent), 314 criminal code violations (up 26.6), and 182 property offences (up 15.9).

The cases from within the City of Vernon and the District of Coldstream resulted in 194 reports to crown counsel being filed, 198 people taken into custody, and 360 responses to mental health calls in Q4.

In all of 2024, police issued 78 reports to Crown counsel, took 987 people into custody, and responded to 904 mental health calls within Vernon and Coldstream.

In response to the toxic drug crisis, police handed out 108 information cards, and provided people with 116 Naloxone kits in Q4.

Police also took 59 impaired drivers off the road and issued them with license suspension or charges in the final three months of 2023.

The report prepared by outgoing Supt. Shawna Baher, will be presented to Vernon city council Monday, April 8.

by Liam Verster

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