RCMP report reveals Penticton property crime spike in 2017

PENTICTON – An RCMP report requested by the City of Penticton indicates crime is on the rise in the Peach City.

Penticton RCMP crime analyst Rachel Linklater has produced a property crime trends report in an effort to determine property crime trends in the city over the past five years.

The findings indicate property crime spiked in the first two months of 2017 following steadily increasing rates over the past five years, except for 2016, when the number of property crime files decreased slightly.

Linklater noted that property crime in the first two months of this year “well exceeded that of file counts from previous years for the given months.” The Penticton RCMP detachment recorded just under 500 files in the first two months of this year compared to around 350 files for the same time period last year, an increase of 42 per cent.

Possible factors contributing to the rise in property theft included drug addiction, police staffing resources, operational priorities, the availability of targets within the community and a possible increase in transient population due to the opening of the Okanagan Correctional Centre in Oliver, the report says.

Linklater noted this year’s early spike in property crime activity is unusual, as the five year study indicates February as traditionally the low point for property crime activity.

The report also notes the most frequently occurring offence in the first two months of this year was theft from vehicles.

Linklater notes the offence is often a crime of opportunity, which victims can mitigate by ensuring they don’t leave valuables in their vehicles.

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