Penticton crime stats on the rise

PENTICTON – Penticton RCMP are fighting more crime, if statistics are any indication.

Penticton RCMP Superintendent Kevin Hewco tabled a report at the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen board meeting on May 7, which said the detachment responded to 19 per cent more calls in the first quarter of 2015 compared to last year.

The officers were called 3,955 compared to 3,317 during the same period last year. There was also a 49 per cent increase in Criminal Code cases over the same period last year.

A single days’ effort focussing on enforcement in school zones and high traffic areas yielded 24 distracted driving charges, according to the report.

Three hundred charges were issued under the Motor Vehicle Act during the first quarter of 2015, with police attending 114 collisions, four of which resulted in injuries.

The report says twelve 90-day immediate roadside suspensions were issued during the quarter, in addition to a 24-hour suspension for drug impairment and a seven-day immediate roadside suspension.

Police visibility continues to increase as the force makes it a priority to increase its presence in the city by conducting regular foot patrols.

Hewco's report also said the Oliver detachment dealt with a spike in property crime this spring, recording a 300 per cent increase in business break and enters, and a 900 per cent increase in residential break and enters.

Hewco said 2015 started “with a bit of a bang,” but police were targeting the small percentage of the population carrying out most of the crime.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.