Criminal activity in Prince Rupert has increased ever so slightly in the last 365 days, but still enough to move the city into the top ten of the 2006 Municipal Crime Rate Report. It’s a report that makes for a rather controversial bit of data collection and one that has more than a few critics.
Many suggest that by just using each municipality as a core group area, the numbers get skewered by those that visit the core city or those that live just outside of it’s municipal boundaries. Better yet to use Municipal case load reports, which suggest that with staffing levels as they are, each city Mountie has 104 cases to work on during the course of a year.
Combine all the criminal statistics with the reduction of police services to the area, due to budgetary troubles and as well as the actual change in the make up of the force, and well, whatcha gonna do! Maybe buy an extra lock or two!
Regardless, crime is crime we guess, Rupert reports a total of 204 criminal code offences per 1,000 residents, up 2 offences from last years stats. Still we are far from claiming the top prize, that less than wanted title goes to Smithers which recorded a rate of 301 criminal code offences per 1,000 residents (obviously it’s those crazy skiers that are causing all the trouble eh!).
The Daily News had full details in the crime wave in its Tuesday edition provided below, break out your calculators and start crunching those numbers, before those numbers start crunching you!
CRIME CONTINUES TO PLAGUE THE NORTHWEST
By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Tuesday, August 9, 2006
Page One
Prince Rupert has cracked the Top 10 for the highest crime rates in the province. After coming in 11th last year, Rupert climbed to a tie for ninth in the 2006 Municipal Crime Rate Report with 204 criminal code offences (excluding traffic) per 1,000 residents. Last year, the city had a rate of 202 offences per 1,000 residents.
For the fourth consecutive year, the dubious honour of top spot went to Smithers with a rate of 301 criminal code offences per 1.000 residents, an increase over last year’s 277 offences. Williams Lake held steady at the number two spot, but had less offences overall dropping to 252 from 275 offences per 1,000 residents. Quesnel held at number three, but also dropped from 263 offences to 237, while Fort St. John (fifth last year) and Merrit (sixth last year) tied for fourth at 278 offences. Dawson Creek had their crime rate decrease but still moved up in the ranking from seventh in 2005 to sixth with 225 offences. Port Alberni jumped from 13th last year to seventh in 2006 with 210 offences per 1,000 residents. Terrace moved from 12th last year to eight with 206 offences, an increase from 198, and Squamish tied Rupert for ninth.
In terms of criminal code offences – including property and violent crime – the only comparable sized town to Prince Rupert (official population 14,974) that had more offences was Squamish. Rupert’s 3,060 criminal code offences was significantly larger than Powell River’s 1,581, Pitt Meadows 1,686 and Salmon Arm’s 1,750.
According to the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General’s Police Services Division a high crime rat indicates that a municipality is a “core” city or tourist destination. Core cities are those which are the business or entertainment centres for a larger number of people who reside outside of as well as in the municipality. As crime rates are based on resident populations- populations which exclude, commuters, tourists, students and other “part-time’ residents – core cities and tourist destinations often have higher than average crime rates. If core cities included other populated areas outside of their boundaries, or if tourist communities included “part-time” residents in their population bases, crime rates would be lower.
What is believed to be a better barometer of demand for police services is the Municipal case load burden, the number of files each officer in a detachment has to work. For Prince Rupert, a caseload of 85 files per officer puts the community tied for 45 in the province.
However, the number is based on the official Rupert deployment of 36.
Due to city cutbacks there are presently only 28 active duty officers, upping the caseload for Rupert officers to 104 each, slightly higher than the provincial average for a Mountie of 102.
The highest case loads per officer are found in Smithers, Parksville, Fort St. John, Courtenay, Chilliwack, Campbell River, Merrit, Pentiction, Williams Lake and Squamish.
The Ministry notes that the data can show crime trends in a community but can not predict the overall safety level of any.
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