Sunshine Coast RCMP Staff Sgt. Jennifer Prunty says there are several reasons the District of Sechelt third-quarter report shows the total calls for service were down from 1,480 in 2023 to 1,263 this year for the same time period.
She credits some of the change to the improved police visibility made this quarter, which ran from July 1 to Sept. 30. During that time, police conducted 39 scheduled foot patrols and 26 bike patrols throughout Sechelt. Those were in addition to unscheduled foot patrols conducted as part of a shift.
“I like to think that presence is definitely helping to bolster that,” said Prunty. “But a lot of it is, and what the frustration on our end is, that people are not reporting to police and I truly believe that it doesn't reflect the actual crimes.”
Prunty adds, some victims of crime have become frustrated with reporting incidents to police, so instead will post or repost stories on Facebook, whether personal or anecdotal.
“They put these third-party reports on Facebook. ‘I heard this happened,’ and things like that,” said Prunty. “So, Facebook and our actual crime stats will have a difference, for sure.”
One area where numbers are up are reports of suspicious persons, vehicles and/or occurrences. In the third quarter, Sunshine Coast RCMP received 154 such reports, up from 96 in 2023, and 84 in 2022.
Prunty, previously told Coast Reporter that suspicious person calls are “a bit of a catch-all for any kind of activity that people just would like the police to come and check out, not necessarily criminal in nature.”
The report also showed mental-health flags were down to 71, from 167 last year. Meanwhile, there were seven bike theft, seven vehicle theft, and 31 mischief-to-property reports.
Break-and-enter incidents were down, with 10 reported for businesses compared to 29 in 2023, and seven for residences, up from two during the same time last year. Theft from vehicle was up from 29 to 46 this third quarter.
Assaults were down across the board, with 33 in total, compared to 53 in 2023. There were zero reports of theft over $5,000 and 36 for theft under $5,000.
“If you listen to what’s happening on Facebook, it sounds like this is really terrible place to live, but the reality is that it's not,” said Prunty. “Not to minimize people who actually have been victim of crime, but the numbers do not reflect that there's any kind of a crime epidemic of sorts, which is what the Facebook posts would have you believe.”
Prunty once again reiterated that anyone who has been a victim of crime to call 911 or the non-emergency number at 604-885-2266. They can also attend the detachment on Teredo Street in person, Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. She notes it’s front-end staff who create the files and send them to be dispatched.
The report also included updates from Prunty on everything from staffing to fraud prevention.
Staffing
The Sunshine Coast RCMP has successfully filled three positions, which became vacant due to transfers. Cst. Jake Tjorham joined the detachment from Richmond in September. Cst. Jordan Chang also joined the detachment in September, after graduating from RCMP Depot.
Cst. Rona Capangpangan will join the detachment in November upon her graduation from depot. Prunty said there are no “hard vacancies’” to report, but the detachment continues to manage several soft vacancies, which include maternity and parental leaves and graduated return to work.
Public safety/crime reduction
This quarter, both Prunty and Community Engagement Officer Cst. Karen Whitby participated in two town hall meetings organized by District of Sechelt mayor and council.
As a result, community members identified the following areas they’d like the RCMP to focus on more, including more police officers and increased visibility on bike and foot, and improved ability to report crimes to police and police response time.
Improved communication with the community
Efforts included supporting a Block Watch initiative partnership with District of Sechelt bylaws and public works. The continuance of scheduled visits, accompanied by Vancouver Coastal Health, on Tuesdays and Thursdays to the tent encampment on Hightide Avenue/Lamprey Lane to ensure excess refuse and unoccupied tents are removed, as well as provide outreach service to vulnerable community members.
Bike theft
The RCMP have partnered with 529 Garage to provide information on bike registration. Participants in the program can register their bikes online, which gives the RCMP a large database to search with an aim of matching recovered bikes with their owners.
Fraud prevention
The RCMP Community Engagement officer has partnered with TD Canada Trust to provide monthly fraud presentations to various community organizations on the Sunshine Coast, which according to police, have been well received and popular.
Tea with a Mountie
As a result of feedback from the community, the RCMP will be reinstating the monthly Tea with a Mountie events.
Traffic safety
BC Highway Patrol members attended the Sunshine Coast twice this quarter to conduct proactive traffic patrols. Specific attention was paid to unlicensed drivers and uninsured vehicles. Local members also continue to conduct traffic enforcement as part of their regular duties and will continue to respond to problem areas at the request of the community.
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