Shoplifting calls to Coquitlam RCMP increased 67 per cent in the second trimester of 2024 compared to the three-year average for the same four months, according to a report to be presented to Coquitlam’s council-in-committee on Monday, Nov. 4.
The detachment’s acting officer-in-charge, Insp. Aaron Lloyd, said in the report the 428 reported incidents of shoplifting were a significant contributor to an overall 14 per cent boost in property crimes from May to August. Fraud calls and break-ins at businesses also increased 11 per cent while vehicle thefts went up six per cent.
But, said Lloyd, the 29 reported break-ins at residences were a 31 per cent drop from the three-year average and thefts from vehicles went down 21 per cent.
Crimes against persons also increased by two per cent, said the report. There were 48 calls for sex offences, a 29 per cent increase over the three-year average of 37, and reported assaults went up by seven per cent.
But there were two fewer robberies than the three-year average of 10 every fourth months.
Lloyd said to temper some of the those numbers, Coquitlam RCMP is conducting “high-visibility patrols, awareness sessions on violence in relationships and connecting victims of crime with community resources through the victim services unit.”
He said the detachment is also working with local businesses to identify ways to reduce shoplifting and fraud.
On Coquitlam’s roads, officers noted intersection infractions increased 31 per cent but there were 70 per cent fewer drug and alcohol infractions as well as 39 per cent fewer incidents of distracted driving. The 507 tickets they wrote for speed-related infracctions was also a 31 per cent drop from the three-year average of 737 for the same four months.
Lloyd said to get those numbers down, the detachment spent more than 75 hours conducting special traffic enforcement blitzes at key intersections like the Barnet Highway and Lougheed, Johnson Street and Lougheed as well as along Como Lake Avenue and Fowler Court. He added “hundreds more hours” were spent promoting traffic safety through general patrols and writing tickets.
Lloyd said mental health calls continue to go up. They increased 11 per cent over the three-year average and the number of calls requiring an officer to wait at the hospital with a person in distress for more than two hours went up 47 per cent.
Lloyd said the boost “highlights the limited availability of mental health supports in the region.”
But, he added, the detachment’s mobile integrated crisis response team (MICR) is making some headway in providing improved care for people experiencing mental distress during police interactions.
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