Thefts of all kinds increased over the previous year’s levels according to Sunshine Coast RCMP 2022 annual crime statistics.
That report, and first quarter 2023 numbers related to local policing, are set to be reviewed at the April 18 Gibsons committee of the whole meeting.
Compared to 2021, total property crime on the Coast increased by 20 per cent in 2022. 2023 reporting shows changes to that trend with a reduction of seven per cent in files for those offences in this year’s first quarter (to March 20, 2023) compared to that same period of 2022.
Between 2021 and last year, shoplifting files almost tripled, going from 43 to 127. In the first three months of 2023, 18 files were reported whereas 24 were counted in the same period of 2022.
Files of thefts valued at over $5,000 more than doubled between 2021 and 2022, reaching 11 from five in the earlier year. The first quarter of 2023 lists two compared to three in that period during 2022.
2022 auto thefts were up 67 per cent, with the number increasing from 21 in 2021 to 35. From January to April of this year, seven incidents were reported, down from eight during those months in 2022.
Break and enters
Break and enter files were up in 2022 over the previous year. Those at businesses saw a 27 per cent increase year over year with 62 reported in 2022. Quarter one 2023 statistics cite 13 reports, down from 19 in that period of 2022, a 32 per cent reduction.
In locations classified as “other” (i.e. governments, non-profits) there were 41 break and enter files in 2022 compared to 33 the previous year. The number of those incidents reported in quarter one of 2023 was 13, the same as in 2022.
Residential property break and enter files saw an increase of 34 per cent between 2021 and 2022. Those counts were 29 in 2021 and 39 last year. Reports in this category continued to go up during the first three months of 2023, with 15 reports compared to 12 in that span of 2022.
Other property crime
The 2022 statistics showed increases for all but one of the 12 reported classifications of property crime. Mischief to property files declined by three per cent, with 250 cases in 2022 compared to 258 in 2021. Reports on that offence increased in 2023 quarter one to 61 from 50 during that period of 2022.
The lowest rates of property crime increase between 2021 and 2022 were in the areas of thefts from vehicles, which went from 136 to 138 and bike thefts which numbered 37 in 2022, compared to 35 the previous year. Bike theft reports in the first quarter of this year compared to last were down again from 10 to 3; thefts from vehicles remained steady, with 39 this year over last year’s quarter one total of 38.
In 2022, the Coast’s RCMP detachment received 8,630 calls for service compared to 8,729 in 2021. The severity classification of those calls remained consistent between the two periods, with 1,008 “Priority One” calls in 2022 compared to 999 the previous year.
