Recent History – 2006
By Lee Kaiser, January 23, 2006
There was a marked drop in break-ins and thefts under $5,000 during 2005. In his final wrap-up of 2005 crime statistics, RCMP Staff Sergeant Dave Fenson told Dawson Creek city council at Monday’s regular meeting there were a total of 238 break and enters in 2005 compared with 350 in 2004. Total thefts under $5,000 dropped from 724 in 2004 to 560 last year. He said they were likely down due to a combination of increased patrols and more vigilance by downtown businesses.
“Many businesses have put in alarms and video surveillance cameras,” he said.
Fenson said it was still difficult to know when most of the break-ins were happening because business owners delayed in reporting damage, but he promised to look for any patterns and report back to council.
Some numbers were up, though. Property damage under $5,000 rose to 646 in 2005 from 451 in 2004. They included cases of mischief and vandalism. Officers also were dealing with more alcohol related issues in the downtown, Fenson said. There were more charges laid in 2005 relating to liquor, drugs, and impaired and dangerous driving. Liquor charges rose to 73 from 41 while drug charges were up to 82 from 49 in 2004. Impaired driving charges were also up from 57 in 2004 to 80 last year. Total assaults were up slightly from 354 in 2004 to 386 in 2005.