More fraud, extortion and impaired driving offences were handled by Port Moody police (PMPD) last year, according to a new report.
While concerning, the local department claims the city continues to post some of the lowest crime statistics among its Metro Vancouver counterparts.
The number of service calls in 2022 totalled nearly 6,800, which is a decrease of 4.7 per cent from 2021, a news release stated.
Among those calls, PMPD Chief Const. Dave Fleugel said there was an 18 per cent increase in fraud reports to 123 last year from 104 in 2021.
Most notably, on April 21, 2022, a local senior was nearly scammed out of $12,000 after a phone fraudster claimed to be an officer requesting bail money on behalf of a family member.
Fleugel added there was 108 extortion and harassment incidents called in to the department — an eight per cent uptick in 2022.
This included an incident publicly reported in December when an Abbotsford man was ultimately charged on sextortion-related offences involving a young Port Moody girl, asking her to send more intimate photos online and claiming they possessed password protected images of her from a cloud-based platform.
But arguably the most eyebrow-raising stat, 209 impaired drivers were taken off the road by PMPD traffic enforcement.
That's a little more than double the 104 drivers caught in 2021 that were impeded by drugs or alcohol.
In one example from February last year, one driver lost their licence for 90 days, as well as their vehicle for 30, after clocking 35 km/h over the speed limit on St Johns Street and failed a breathalyzer test.
"I am very pleased at the increased enforcement capacity around impaired driving but disappointed that the number of impaired drivers on our roads are still too high," Fleugel explained.
Meanwhile, there were 24 break-and-enters in 2022 — four more than from the previous year.
The rest of the report showed decreases in thefts from vehicles, mischief, collisions and even assault, which officers filed 80 reports of the offence last year compared to 87 in 2021.
Fleugel said while the true number of crimes may be greater than those that were officially reported, he believes Port Moody should still be characterized as a safe place "to live, work and visit."
"Though there are some increases in certain types of crime, these numbers are consistent with pre-pandemic levels and remain well below provincial and national averages," he added.
"With help from an engaged and vigilant community, our officers continue to keep our community safe."
The PMPD said in its statement it is working to offer online reporting for lower severity crimes to "facilitate and encourage crime reporting."
For more information, or to report a crime, you can visit the PMPD's website or call 604-461-3456.
