With some prolific offenders off the street, crime stats in Oliver are down.
The commander of the Oliver RCMP says crime statistics have gone down in this community.
That was the message delivered by Sgt. Blaine Gervais during a recent presentation to Town council.
The commander referred to statistics comparing 2015 numbers to the first three months of this year.
Oliver RCMP recorded 50 per cent more weapons offences, and 25 per cent fewer vehicle thefts in the first three months of 2016, compared to 2015.
Six times over those months the RCMP dealt with weapons offences, up from just three in 2015. The RCMP called this increase a “higher than average number of weapons offences.”
Meanwhile, it recorded eight vehicle thefts over that time, down from 23 last year. That number lines up with a drop in most break and enters in the first quarter of this year.
RCMP numbers show that break and enters into homes and other buildings dropped in the first quarter of 2016, 70 per cent (from 10 to three) and 25 per cent (from eight to six) respectively.
Until recently—and especially through the summer and fall of 2015— local businesses and residents have been plagued by a string of break and enters and thefts. Some local businesses even hired private security after repeated break-ins.
The RCMP noted that the drop in break-ins, vehicle thefts and thefts from vehicles could “possibly be due to two habitual offenders who used to reside in Oliver being in custody for the entire quarter.”
Gervais told council that a “gang of criminals” living north of Oliver (across from the Alliance Church) were basically chased out after experiencing pressure to leave the community. He noted they were later arrested in Alberta and were responsible for a number of break-ins.
Gervais said whenever these career criminals are back in jail, calls for service always go down.
While the drops in theft and break and enters might signal some relief—at least for residents, break and enters into businesses have risen by 75 per cent over the same period in 2015.
Cases of fraud also rose by 150 per cent over the first three months of 2016, with the RCMP recording 10 fraud calls over that time compared to four over the same period last year.
Those numbers were likely bolstered by the rash of telephone scams targeting several Oliver residents in late March and early April. The so-called ”tax scam” saw many locals contacted by someone claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency asking for unpaid taxes.
Councillor Maureen Doerr said she had a warrant for her arrest last week, noting that somebody called her saying she owed money (which was a scam).
She also said these fraud artists are “freaking out” local seniors who actually go to their banks to pay these bogus charges but are fortunately stopped by staff.
“They (telephone scam artists) are impossible to catch. You can’t track these people,” said Gervais.
The commander said fraud is particularly bad this year, with everyone getting a call from the so-called taxman.
Numbers also show assaults fell 50 per cent in the early months of 2016, down from 16 instances to eight.
On a larger scale, the RCMP received 687 calls for service in the first quarter of 2016, up from 668 last year, and a total increase of 2.8 per cent.
Conversely, it saw 153 Criminal Code files over the same period, down from 158 last year, meaning a drop of 3.2 per cent.
As with most of Oliver’s crime statistics, the percentages aren’t as shocking as they initially appear. In most cases, the total number of instances of any particular crime is low enough that even an increase or decrease of two or three instances can cause a significant jump in percentage.
Gervais noted that a local meth user was arrested for breaking into the Telus tower building on Fairview Mountain recently. But police can’t say if he was the one who knocked over the tower itself, causing $500,000 in damage.
The commander also provided an update on a serious assault that left a man with life-threatening injuries in Oliver last summer.
The targeted assault occurred in a residence on McKinney Road, where a man was almost beaten to death, Gervais said. He noted the victim is recovering and can now communicate.
Police are continuing to investigate four suspects involved in the assault.
By Trevor Nichols and Lyonel Doherty
