The Sea to Sky RCMP says property crime and violent crime have diminished between 2021 and 2022 in Squamish, while mental health files and intoxicated driving have risen.
Insp. Robert Dykstra and Senior Staff Sgt. Gareth Bradley presented comparative crime statistics between 2021 and 2022 to District of Squamish council on April 25. In the presentation, the two police officers explained that property crime and violent crime diminished by about 10.2% and 12.8% respectively.
But, mental health files and intoxicated driving saw an increase of about 7.5% and 20.8% overall between the two years.
“These are serious calls where somebody's threatening to harm themselves or a person is in serious crisis, where we have to attend and assess the risk,” said Bradley about the mental health files from 2022.
The total number of mental health-related files in 2021 was 320, but 2022 saw an increase to 344. Dykstra confirmed to the council that the mental health files may also overlap with other files in their system.
Bradley said that immediate roadside prohibitions under 30 days nearly doubled going from 36 to 67. This increase is not showing signs of slowing down so far in 2023, either.
“That trend into the first quarter of 2023 here has not slowed down; we’ve almost eclipsed that number from the entirety of 2022,” he said. “We have about 43 impaired driving charges.”
Mayor Armand Hurford asked if this trend can be partially related to increased resourcing or effort from the RCMP.
Bradley confirmed that resourcing is partially up because a number of officers are junior, so they need training on handling these investigations and devices.
Dykstra speculated that increased alcohol consumption could be leftover from habits developed during COVID-19.
“We might be on the road a little bit more, but more of those stops that are being conducted are resulting in findings like this,” he said.
Overall, Bradley said total calls for service are down about 11%, with about 950 fewer calls between the two years. However, priority one calls — described as “lights and sirens, fairly serious” calls — remained about the same, with 724 compared to 712.
Starting next week, Bradley said Squamish should see the launch of the Car 99 pilot program, which is meant to take a proactive approach to policing.
“A member will join up with a nurse practitioner and will go out and do actually proactive follow up and check-ups,” he said. “Pretty excited about that. That’s been a long time in the making.”
Other tasks the RCMP looks to complete this year include the development of neurodivergent training, the start of the situation partnership table and the development of a new strategic plan. The situation partnership table, said Bradley, will be a partnership with community partners to help the vulnerable population in Squamish.
For more information about the crime statistics, the presentation is available to download from the council’s agenda. To view the meeting, visit the District of Squamish’s YouTube page at YouTube.com/@DistrictofSquamish.
