Kelowna RCMP statistics show property crime on the rise

If you needed a reminder to remove any valuables from your vehicle or lock up your bike, consider yourself warned.

Statistics from the Kelowna RCMP show the number of property crimes reported last year was up more than 10 per cent compared to 2017, with over 9,200 files opened.

At the end of the year, bike and vehicle owners and people with downtown property all saw more issues.

The Kelowna RCMP said in the last three months of 2018 bike thefts where up more than 60 per cent, compared to the same time period in 2017, and there were 25 per cent more thefts from vehicles reported, while downtown property crime was up over seven per cent.

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In total, police said they fielded 114 reports of bike theft and 679 reports of theft from vehicles in the last quarter of 2018.

The head of the Kelowna detachment, Supt. Brent Mundle, is presenting the data to Kelowna City Council this week as part of his quarterly report.

In his report to council, Mundle said police have been putting an emphasis this past year on preventing bike theft, targeting drug crime and traffic offenses, highlighting that a downtown drug enforcement effort resulted in 95 people facing charges.

Mundle notes that in general police were busier last year fielding over 55,000 calls for service — two per cent more than they received the year before.