Youth gathering in Gibsons a concern to RCMP: Quarterly report

RCMP’s calls for service within Gibsons were down six per cent in 2022 over the previous year. Violent crime was up 12 percent, to 112 from 100 files, while property crime rose six per cent, to 270 from 254 files. The number of charges laid was up four per cent, to 81 from 78. 

Staff Sgt. Jennifer Prunty of Sunshine Coast RCMP presented the RCMP’s annual and quarterly statistics for the municipality to a Gibsons committee of the whole on April 18. (Read them in full on the committee agenda.) Prunty also provided the committee with context that may not have been captured in the statistics.  

Gathering youth a concern

Youth gathering in Gibsons in the evenings – primarily on weekends and school holidays – are a concern for the RCMP, according to Prunty. The youth are coming from around the Coast, as the bus service runs late, she said, and are generally gathering to party at the beach. But, when the weather turns, they go to the stores that are open late. There are three gas stations that are open, “and that's kind of where the trouble tends to hub,” said Prunty. 

“It is a concern for us, just because some of the staff don't feel safe when there are these large numbers of youth there. There's some shoplifting going on and It's not necessarily being reported right away to us. 

“We've ramped up our presence on weekends, especially if we notice that there's a lot of kids moving and segueing down into Gibsons area.”

Missing persons

Asked about the six missing persons files in the first quarter of 2023 in Gibsons, Prunty said some can be people who just haven’t been heard from in a while or who community agencies have been keeping track of. Some also fall into the check wellbeing category, said Prunty. All six people missing in the first quarter have been located, said Prunty. 

Impaired driving

Impaired driving is also a concern, said Prunty. Impaired driving files rose 140 per cent in Gibsons in 2022 – to 60 from 25. (Accounting for 40 per cent of the Coast’s 149 impaired driving files in 2022. In Gibsons, motor vehicle incident files rose 19 per cent in 2022 while there was almost no change year-to-year in the Coast-wide stat.)

Prunty noted a couple of possible reasons for the rise in impaired driving files: they have a couple of junior investigators who are particularly keen to go out and look for impaired drivers and the RCMP needs to do some more “impactful messaging” about the dangers of drinking and driving. “So you will see some messaging coming out from us about that.”

Staff

On the topic of staffing, the local RCMP has just one vacancy now, said Prunty, and that’s the sergeant's position she vacated to take the staff sergeant role. The crime prevention officer position that's been vacant for nearly two years was recently filled.