Crime in WL continues to decline

From the City of Williams Lake:

Statistics presented during Tuesday’s City Council meeting show crime continues to fall in Williams Lake. Williams Lake RCMP detachment commander Staff Sergeant Warren Brown presented council with crime statistics from January 1 to September 30, 2011.

Compared to the same period in 2010:

• Theft of auto over $5,000 is down from 10 to 5, or 50%. This is down from 53 in 2008, or a 91% drop.
• Theft of auto under $5,000 is down from 18 to 2, or 89%. This is down from 48 in 2008, or a 96% drop.
• Theft of truck over $5,000 is down from 11 to 3, or 73%. This is down from 97 in 2008, or a 97% drop.
• Theft of truck under $5,000 is down from 19 to 4, or 79%. This is down from 39 in 2008, or a 90% drop.
• Break & Enter of Business is down from 39 to 16, or 59%. This is down from 55 in 2008, or a 71% drop.
• False alarms are down from 642 to 493, or 23%. This is down from 622 in 2008, or a 21% drop.
• Calls for service are down from 6,924 to 6,411, or 7.4%. This is down from 8,515 in 2008, or a 25% drop.

Robberies have decreased from 17 to 16 over 2010, and are down from 20 in 2008. Break & Enter to residences have increased from 60 to 72 (20%) from 2010, but are down from 128 in 2008. Crime in the city has dropped in every quarter for more than two years, with property crime seeing the most dramatic reductions. 2008 is an appropriate benchmark, as crime statistics for that year were reflective of crime rates for the prior 10 years.

Late last year, Council adopted a bylaw to make it easier for the City to remove graffiti on private property. It adopted a bylaw to help reduce the number of false alarms in the city, which diverts RCMP resources away from other priorities, and adopted a victim impact statement to be presented at sentencings for drug offences. Council has also passed a bylaw to address nuisance complaints related to properties.