Last quarter of 2019 unusually busy for Vernon RCMP

It was a busy end to 2019 for Vernon RCMP officers.

The number of files police dealt with in the North Okanagan city was up significantly at the end of 2019 compared to the same time period the year before.

Police opened 4,475 files on everything from car crashes to drug offenses in the last three months of the year.

It’s almost 700 more calls than during the same time period in 2018 when police dealt with 3,811 files in Vernon.

Fourth Quarter Vernon police files:

2019 – 4,475
2018 – 3,811
2017 – 3,757
2016 – 3,784

Assaults, thefts from vehicles, thefts under $5,000 and drug offences were among the more common issues Vernon officers dealt with during the last three months of 2019.

All four issues were dealt with more often by police in the fourth quarter of 2019 than during the same time period the year before.

Fourth Quarter City of Vernon police files:

Assault:

2019 – 130
2018 – 91

Theft from vehicle:

2019 – 213
2018 – 162

Theft under $5,000

2019 – 286
2018 – 247

Drug Offences:

2019 – 120
2018 – 59

2:44 RCMP arrest suspect after Vernon business robbed 3 times

However, other types of police files were down in Vernon during the last quarter of 2019, compared to the year before, including car crashes, liquor offences and vehicle thefts.

Vernon RCMP have been encouraging the public to report all crimes regardless of whether they believe there is anything police can do on the file, which may help to explain the increase in police files.

The data was released as part of the local RCMP superintendent’s quarterly update to city council.

Among the cases in the last three months of 2019, that Superintendent Shawna Baher will be highlighting in her report to council this week is the repeated robbery of a Vernon fast food outlet and reports of gunshots on 24th Ave. RCMP said the shooting remains under investigation.