West Shore residents have been inundated recently with crime news from their community.
Such incidents as the pair of assaults on area paths in the past month, the stolen cars from Victoria being ditched in Colwood B次元官网网址� one of which resulted in a local lake being scoured for a body that was never found B次元官网网址� or the drug busts, gunfire and regular break-and-enters have left the community feeling worried, at least based on recent letters to the Gazette.
B次元官网网址淚 am a woman living in Langford and I have grown fearful of my community,B次元官网网址� said Tara Sharp in the opening of .
She said she B次元官网网址渦sed to enjoy exploring my neighbourhood, walking the many paths and jogging local trails, but now I am too frightened to do that B次元官网网址� I want to feel safe and right now I do not.B次元官网网址�
, B次元官网网址淢y mom used to walk those trails all the time in past years, and now is afraid to in case she gets attacked, assaulted, or even worse. If one person is having this thought, IB次元官网网址檓 sure it is a thought that a lot of West Shore citizens are having, especially seniors and females.B次元官网网址�
A spokesperson for West Shore RCMP indicates that itB次元官网网址檚 difficult to say whether the recent spate of crimes can be called a developing trend or is more of a temporary abnormality B次元官网网址� a statistical blip B次元官网网址� that will average out over time.
B次元官网网址淚t is difficult to comment on crime statistics focused on a short window of time,B次元官网网址� said Const. Alex Berube.
B次元官网网址淟onger periods of statistical analysis B次元官网网址� such as (those) presented in the mayorB次元官网网址檚 report B次元官网网址� provide a much more accurate overview of crime trends, and in turn the affects those trends have on community safety.B次元官网网址�
The mayorB次元官网网址檚 report he speaks of is essentially the year-over-year analysis that is given by the department to the municipalities, to allow them to see what trends are developing and assess the success of policing efforts.
The most recent report, summarizing police activity on the West Shore in 2014 and how it compares to previous years, showed the overall number of police calls responded to in the region dropped by three per cent.
Between 2013 and 2014, the number of reported assaults in the coverage area actually decreased 12 per cent, from 746 in 2013 to 660 in 2014. Police actions related to possession, trafficking and production of narcotics went down eight, 21 and 48 per cent, respectively.
In order for things to balance out at a three-per-cent overall drop in crime, however, that means that some things went up.
Cases involving possession of stolen property increased 43 per cent during that time, from 80 cases in 2013 to 114 last year.
Other concerning categories that saw increases in numbers were sexual offences (six per cent), domestic violence cases (18 per cent) and reports of theft (eight per cent).
Insp. Larry Chomyn, who leads the detachment, says that while this is, indeed, a busier period than normal for the force, he fully expects things to balance out over time.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e had a few things happen close together, and the media has grabbed onto them a bit,B次元官网网址� Chomyn said, B次元官网网址渂ut then we might very easily have a few months of far fewer events,B次元官网网址� adding that itB次元官网网址檚 very premature for people to overreact, as this could in no way be considered a B次元官网网址渢rendB次元官网网址� at this point.
B次元官网网址淎t the end of the day, weB次元官网网址檙e still a very safe community. If there was a public safety warning that needed to be issued, we would absolutely do that. But itB次元官网网址檚 just not the case.B次元官网网址�
Berube added that over a nine-year period, the West Shore has seen B次元官网网址渁 marked decline in violent crimes, which includes homicides, attempted homicides, sexual assault, assaults, etc.B次元官网网址�
