Crime stats only appear to jump with new system

(File photo)

By Dale Boyd

Osoyoos Times

The RCMP are now including all incidents in crime statistics until they are proven unfounded, according to the South Okanagan’s top cop, which is leading to some perceived jumps in crime statistics.

“The methodology changed in 2019,” Supt. Ted De Jager told the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen board Thursday. “I’ve already seen a couple articles in local media reporting to major swings in break and enters, 100, 150 per cent increases. Again, that’s the issue with the change in 2019.”

Incidents police respond to, like mischief, or suspicious persons, were previously not recorded or deemed “unfounded,” if nothing substantial came from a call for service. Starting Jan. 1 of this year, those incidents are now recorded into RCMP statistics for the area unless they are proven otherwise.

“We score everything as founded unless we can prove it to be unfounded, which is a dramatic switch to how we did it in 2018 and before,” De Jager said. “That’s not to say we are not concerned about property crime of course we are.”

• Read more: BC RCMP Appreciation Day idea supported

This explains some jumps in the South Okanagan statistics in year-over-year stats. This plays a factor in the significant increase in violent crime seen in Osoyoos, including 12 incidents in this quarter of 2019 up from two incidents in the same quarter last year.

“A lot of that is domestic violence, or a majority of that is domestic violence. Again it’s that difference between not being able to prove that something didn’t happen, so we score it as a founded occurrence,” De Jager said.

Oliver saw similar jumps in year-over-year stats for the second quarter of 2019, seeing a 150 per cent increase incidents of mischief, a 100 per cent increase in auto theft and a 250 per cent increase in break and enters (other).

“If we really want to see what’s actually happening we’d have to open up each and every one of those files, so that’s something that we are looking towards with technology and digital evidence management we’ll be able to do that,” De Jager said.

Other methods like a formula to portray more realistic year-over-year stats are being worked on, as De Jager noted similar jumps in stats are being seen in RCMP divisions province wide.

• Read more: Social media helps Osoyoos RCMP reunite stolen dog with owner

In the top 10 calls out of a total 1,251 calls for service in Osoyoos, there were 92 calls for traffic incidents, and 92 abandoned 911 calls. There were 89 calls responding to alarms, and the next top call for service was property-related crimes.

Abandoned 911s are a “burden and tremendous drain on police resources,” De Jager said. Most are accidental dials and are not emergencies, he said.

“We’re seeing those increases in disturbance calls which is what we encourage people to do so they’re looking out for each other. Eventually we’d like that to switch from calling police to a block watch program preventing the disturbance in the first place,” De Jager said. “That’s something that we’re working towards.”

De Jager praised local community efforts in Oliver to stem crime, as well as good results similar efforts in Kaleden, Naramata and West Bench.

Prolific offenders, or repeat offenders sometimes committing multiple crimes a day, are still a major driver of property crime in the South Okanagan, not homeless people or the “street entrenched” population, De Jager said.

“We’re actively targeting those individuals,” De Jager said, adding that Penticton’s Targeted Enforcement Unit is active in the South Okanagan outside of Penticton as well.