Property crime continues to be the number one issue for Osoyoos, similar to other small communities, according to RCMP Sgt. Jason Bayda in his quarterly update.
Theft from vehicles jumped by 133 per cent, from nine cases in the same quarter last year to 21 this year. Bayda notes that being a small town with low incident numbers, any change tends to look like a huge jump.
The majority of these cases involved theft of licence plates. “These are things the vehicle owner cannot really secure more than they already are,” Bayda notes, adding that special screws can be purchased that make the plates hard to remove, but noted that if a person wants the plates badly enough, they will likely just rip the plate off anyways, but “any little thing helps,” he says.
“We’re finding that when people steal a vehicle they will put in place a vehicle licence plate of a similar model and colour.” In the interim before the vehicle is reported stolen it is difficult for police to determine such a car is stolen.
He adds that campaigns conducted last year to educate the public on locking up valuables and keeping them out of sight has paid off with a reduction in that crime category. Auto theft also saw a decline with six thefts in Q1 2020 dropping to three this year.
Sex offences rose from one to four in 2021and domestic violence reached seven, up from two in the same period a year earlier.
“Domestic violence is always a tricky thing to try and track and you’re going to see fluctuations in domestic violence all the time because it depends on many things – people at different stages of their life, financial issues, COVID, etc.,” he says.
Bayda adds that they are trying to ensure that people get the help they need. The victims are given avenues and different means to address their situation and improve their life.
Fraud was up 23 per cent with much of this a result of telephone fraud, including one pretending to be the RCMP and using technology to mimic a local telephone number. The scam involves a caller who, pretending to be the RCMP, informs the victim that they are going to be arrested but can avoid it by paying fines.
“We want to highlight that the RCMP will not phone you to tell you we’re going to arrest you,” he says.
Other similar telephone scams leverage the housing/rental crisis in Osoyoos and Bayda similarly urged residents to be cautious.
The local detachment is also ramping up its water safety patrols with a significant increase in boat patrols last year and 260 boat checks. “Thankfully we had no fatalities on the lake last year,” Bayda says.
“We are not going to be able to prevent all fatalities on the lake, we can’t be out there all the time but the more we’re out there the more people will respond to us in terms of promoting safe boating,” he adds.
