CANMORE - Personal crimes reported in Canmore jumped by 25 per cent in 2017, driven largely by increases in assault, criminal harassment and uttering threats, according to the RCMP's year-end report.
CANMORE - Personal crimes reported in Canmore jumped by 25 per cent in 2017, driven largely by increases in assault, criminal harassment and uttering threats, according to the RCMP's year-end report.
Last year there were 177 reports of personal crime compared to 142 total reports in 2016.
The increase was led by the number of reported assault cases, which rose from 88 reported cases in 2016 to 109 in 2017. Since 2013, personal crimes in Canmore have increased by 31 per cent, according to the latest statistics provided to council on May 8.
Spousal abuse also increased by 13 per cent in 2017, with 76 reported cases. Over the past five years the number of spousal abuse cases has increased by 138 per cent.
RCMP Staff Sgt. John Eneas told council that 60 per cent of the reported cases last year were from local residents while the remaining 40 per cent were visitors.
Property crimes also increased by two per cent last year with 587 reported cases. Over the past five years, property crimes have jumped by 35 per cent, driven by an increase in theft under $5,000, possession of stolen goods and mischief. The number of reported break and enters decreased.
Despite the spike in reported crimes in some categories, other criminal code offences decreased by six per cent and the total number of criminal code offences in Canmore increased by only one per cent between 2016 and 2017. Over the past five years, criminal offences reported in Canmore have increased by 21 per cent.
During the meeting, Sgt. Eneas was asked if he believed the RCMP has noticed an increase in the amount of rural crime in recent months given the number of cars that have been broken into or stolen.
"In the larger urban area of Calgary there is a lot of targeted enforcement going on there, so if you focus on one specific thing or one area you're going to push out the problem. So what's happening is we're getting some of that pushing out into outlying areas," explained Sgt. Eneas.
To try and reduce vehicle theft, the RCMP has been using a 'bait vehicle,' however, the one operation it conducted last year didn't result in any hits. Last summer, the police also introduced a 'bait bicycle,' however, it too failed to return any leads.
