In 2022, Prince George RCMP created a total of 45,465 new files, down nine per cent from the 50,182 created in 2021, according to a report going to city council on Monday.
The number of case files in 2022 is the equivalent of a new crime roughly every 11.5 minutes, or three crimes for every five residents of the city.
“2022 was another busy year for police services,” city director of public safety Adam Davey wrote in his introduction to the report. “2023 will see some major changes in the policing landscape. The decriminalization of illicit drugs and full implementation of the Health IM system in the city of Prince George are two of several developments/initiatives that will significantly impact the policing in the city moving forward through 2023.”
Prince George RCMP Supt. Shaun Wright is expected to present the report to city council on Monday.
In 2022, Prince George RCMP investigated 879 assaults, 410 assaults with a weapon, 197 sexual offences, 712 missing persons, 104 robberies, 302 vehicle thefts, 747 break-and-enters, 786 thefts under $5,000, 1,327 cases of mischief to property (such as vandalism), 1,407 cases of people causing disturbances, 1,369 Mental Health Act incidents, and 223 liquor and cannabis regulation incidents, the report says.
Prince George RCMP forwarded a total of 1,993 charges to the Crown for prosecution, down from 2,068 in 2021. The total prisoner count for the year was 2,639, only one less than in 2021.
The RCMP received a total of 7,532 calls for service to the downtown area, down from 7,691 in 2021. The most common reasons for calls in the downtown area included mischief (1,391 calls), suspicious persons (1,321 calls), Mental Health Act/wellbeing checks (827 calls), causing a disturbance (411 calls), unspecified assistance/abandoned 911 calls (405 calls), and intoxicated/consumption in public (38 calls).
