BARRHEAD - RCMP Cpl. Filipe Vicente had good news for County of Barrhead county councillors. The overall crime statistics dropped for the second consecutive quarter.
"The numbers are down almost right across the board," he told councillors at their Nov. 17 meeting.
From July to September (Q3), the Barrhead RCMP responded to 176 criminal code files, a 41 per cent average drop over the five years and 35 per cent compared to last year.
On the property crime side, police responded to 78 complaints in the quarter, a 52 per cent decrease from last year at 161 in the same quarter in 2023.
The break-and-enter category saw the most significant decrease, dropping an average of 86 per cent over the five years. Only six were reported in 2024, compared to a high of 43 in 2023, 31, 26, and 35 in 2022, 2021, and 2020.
Possession of stolen goods was another category showing a deep percentage decline, although less drastic overall. It went from a high of 23 in 2020 to four this year, for an overall average change of 83 per cent and 60 per cent from 2023, when 10 complaints were reported. Theft under $5,000 dropped by more than half, dropping an average of 56 per cent, going from a high of 46 last year to 20 in 2024.
The number of stolen motor vehicles reported in 2024 also decreased appreciably, going from a high of 37 in 2021 to a low of 10 in 2024. The other years ranged from the low 20s last year to 25 in 2020 and 27 in 2022.
Police responded to three thefts over $5,000 complaints in Q3 in 2024, compared to highs of 11 and eight in 2020 and 21 before decreasing to three in 2022 and 2023.
The number of frauds reported has remained relatively static for the last five years, sitting at 12, compared to 15,12,10 and 12 in 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The mischief categories, damage to property and other, also remained static. Mischief (property damage) ranged from a spike of 30 and 23, in 2022 and 2021, respectively, to dropping to 19 in 2020 and 16 in both 2023 and 2024. In the miscellaneous other category, the number of files ranged from a high of eight in 2021 and 2022 to a low of three in 2023. Last year, seven were reported.
Vicente attributed much of the quarter's decrease in property crime to the fact that some of the area's frequent offenders are behind bars.
"I know sometimes people don't want to hear it, [but jailing people works]," he said.
He also noted that they have had a few success stories in which previously habitual offenders have "cleaned up their acts," and some of their high fliers have moved out of the area.
Although the crime statistics were down overall, there were a few blips.
One is the number of Canada Mental Health Act files, the highest in five years at 40.
"A lot of those are ones where we have to apprehend people, and because Barrhead doesn't have the services to deal with mental health patients, we have to transport them to the city," Vicente said, adding it takes an officer out of service for a minimum of three to four hours.
Coun. Walter Preugschas asked about those files and how many deal with repeat offenders.
"There were a handful that we dealt with more than once," Vicente replied, adding the level of severity was different in each case. "It ranges from people having a bad day, but after talking to them, we get it sorted out, to those having a complete mental breakdown."
Vicente also noted that the number of person crimes slightly increased in Q3 compared to 2023, jumping to 63 from 59. The lowest Q3 number was 42 in 2021, with 48 and 50-person crimes reported in 2020 and 2022.
The biggest spike in personal crimes was in the uttering threats category, which, at 23 in 2024, was the highest in five years.
"A lot of that comes from online stuff," he said. "It is so easy to sit behind a keyboard and make all kinds of comments."
The number of assaults reported also increased in 2024, increasing to a five-year high of 30.
Regrettably, Vicente said, most are due to domestic disputes inside the home, which police have little control over.
However, he reiterated that the overall crime trend, starting about last Christmas, has been slowly but consistently trending downwards.
"Which has allowed our members to be more proactive and be out more in the community," Vicente said.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
