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Vernon 4:00am - 297 views
When compared to the previous year, crime in Vernon took a dip in the summer months — according to the Vernon North Okanagan Detachment's third-quarter report.
The report covers July to September 2018.
"During the third quarter of 2018, we saw an 11% decrease in criminal code offences as well as an 18.36% decrease in property crime. With regards to our road safety initiatives, road check-stops decreased 74.36% and we had a decrease of 33.33% in alcohol-related traffic enforcement conducted by members."
In the report, the RCMP highlighted the arrests of several people connected to the local drug trade, which also resulted in the seizure of significant quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
"Targeted Policing continue to participate in the policing priority of identifying, profiling, selecting and targeting individuals and/or groups involved in criminal activity and, because of their association to gangs/organized crime, pose a safety risk to the community," stated Superintendent Shawna Baher. "For this period, five individuals/groups have been identified."
The report also highlighted the work being done by the detachment's Crime Reduction Unit (Downtown Enforcement Unit and Prolific Offender Unit)
RCMP have identified 18 prolific offenders, and of those, seven remain in custody.
"The Crime Reduction Unit perform a significant role in bi-weekly comparative statistics meetings where emerging crime trends, hot spots of criminal activity, problem premises, priority prolific offenders and social chronic offenders are identified and tasks are assigned to various units to help reduce crime."
As for traffic enforcement, RCMP in Vernon removed 41 impaired drivers from the road during the third quarter and handed out six distracted driving charges while conducting three road checks.
While crime is down when compared to the same time last year, thefts from vehicles, thefts under $5,000 and assaults remain the three most reported crimes.
A recent 2018 Maclean's Magazine article ranking Canadian cities on a Crime Severity Index, Vernon landed 24th, which is significantly higher than its 2017 ranking of 9th overall.
