Mayor Cook speaks out on crime increases in Williams Lake

Editor's Note -- is it a coincidence that 2008 is also the same year that Kerry Cook was elected Mayor of Williams Lake, in addition to 2008 being used as a 'benchmark' year to measure success on crime reduction against

Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

Crime continues to be lower than in 2008, despite an increase this year in a number of offences. Council recently received the third quarter RCMP update from Inspector Warren Brown and Safer Communities Coordinator Dave Dickson.

Theft of vehicles, theft from vehicles and break and enters have all increased in the past four months, compared to 2011, but are still lower than in 2008, which is used as a benchmark year.

“This spike has coincided with a number of prolific offenders, known for these types of crimes, who have been released from jail and are again back in our community,” says Inspector Brown. “There are very few of these individuals in our community, however they are likely responsible for the majority of this increase in crime. The Williams Lake RCMP have re-focused efforts from a host of other policing strategies to targeting these individuals. The RCMP will engage our community volunteers and will provide very deliberate and focused efforts to correct this recent blip. Our commitment to reducing crime and increasing public safety is unwavering.”

Compared to 2008, theft of automobiles under $5,000 are down 85%, thefts of trucks over $5,000 is down 74%, break and enters to business are down 64%, and calls for service are down 25%.

“This temporary spike in our property crime is temporary, and does not reflect the great success the RCMP, their volunteers, the City, and the community as a whole has achieved in reducing crime,” says Mayor Kerry Cook. “A handful of offenders skewing the statistics will not discourage us. It strengthens our resolve to reduce crime even further.”