From January to September, calls for service in Courtenay dropped by 4.5 per cent compared to the same time period last year at the Comox Valley RCMP detachment, Insp. Mike Kurvers told council Monday in a summary of second quarter statistics from July 1 to Sept. 30, 2022.
Among all local municipalities, he said Courtenay has accounted for 71.8 per cent of calls for service (more than 12,000) from 2019-2022. Police received about 2,000 calls each from Comox and the rural areas during that time. Fewer have come from Cumberland.
In the second quarter of this year, there were 111 fewer traffic files in Courtenay, two fewer break and enter files, and two fewer thefts from vehicles than in the second quarter of 2021.
Kurvers said the detachment is “very good at getting impaired drivers off the road.”
Break and enters are down to about 140 files from January to October in Courtenay, compared to 180 files in the same time period in 2019 and 2020.
“But it’s still significant compared to the other communities,” Kurvers said.
There were two more drug trafficking files in the second quarter. However, the number of files in Courtenay, about 20, has dropped from January to October, compared to 2019 (more than 60) and 2020 (50).
In April and May, there were five more sexual assault files, but 15 fewer domestic violences files, than during the same two months in 2021.
Kurvers cannot explain why sex assault files have increased the past two years in Courtenay.
“It depends on the year and what kind of files we generate. This year it’s gone up past 40, up to 45 sex assault files.”
In terms of PTEP Success (Provincial Tactical Enforcement Priority), this year the Comox Valley RCMP selected a known drug trafficker with a history of violence as an enforcement priority. He was arrested in June, and is remanded in custody on charges related to drug trafficking and firearms offences.
“That is a constant, we do that routinely,” Kurvers said. “We have our PTEP targets. We try and work on those as best we can, and we’ve had pretty good success with that.”
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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