Since January Salmon Arm RCMP have seen a spike in calls for public use of drugs, and a rise in criminal activity in the area of 30th Street NE and Highway 1.
At its April 22 meeting, city council received a quarterly report, spanning Jan. 1 to March 31, from Staff Sgt. Scott West.
During the quarter, Salmon Arm RCMP received 1,948 calls for service, 1,515 of those from within the city. This was up by 261 more calls from the same quarter in 2023.
含羞草研究社淪o our call volume within the city does continue to go up,含羞草研究社� said West.
Once again West included with his report a map pointing to crime hot spots in the city. He pointed out one spot in particular, in the area of the Trans-Canada Highway and 30th, where incidents have been on the rise.
含羞草研究社淎ll of our members are paying attention to that and conducting increased patrols,含羞草研究社� said West.
West said property crime remains 含羞草研究社渙ne of our most prolific crime types,含羞草研究社� and that the most numerous property crimes are mischief (loss of enjoyment of property) and fraud. Another notable occurrence has been the increase in reports to police regarding drugs and alcohol. West said the detachment has seen an increase in calls for people who are openly using drugs and/or are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. According to statistics provided by West, these calls jumped from 101 in 2023 to 332 this year.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檝e got an issue that含羞草研究社檚 cropping up where we含羞草研究社檙e dealing with more people that are under the influence of an intoxicating substance,含羞草研究社� said West. 含羞草研究社淒ecriminalization no doubt had an impact on those numbers because more people are openly using or not hiding the use as much as they used to含羞草研究社卟菅芯可鐫
West said officers continue to be focused on, and patrolling 含羞草研究社渒nown problem areas,含羞草研究社� and are conducting morning patrols where possible through the downtown business community, 含羞草研究社渂ecause we含羞草研究社檝e heard back from them that there is a resurgence of some issues within that area despite council含羞草研究社檚 best efforts in approving Marshlands and Cedar Place and a number of other social housing situations.含羞草研究社�
Asked if he knew of any changes coming from the B.C. government regarding legislation that allows for public possession up to 2.5 grams of specified illegal drugs, West said he含羞草研究社檚 aware of some discussions around proximity to particular locations, but noted the intent of the legislation 含羞草研究社渉as been not to criminalize use.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淚 think the data makes a compelling case that there含羞草研究社檚 room for improvement and there are many agencies in the community that are working hard to serve some of the population that you referred to, vulnerable people who are suffering from drug and alcohol addictions,含羞草研究社� said Coun. Louise Wallace Richmond, who urged West含羞草研究社檚 report be shared with those agencies. 含羞草研究社淚 think there含羞草研究社檚 great value in sharing this with them because you cannot fix what you do not measure, and you含羞草研究社檝e measured. I think there含羞草研究社檚 room there to help those agencies understand some of the challenges that are happening.含羞草研究社�
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