Emergency police calls rose by 72 per cent from 2020 to 2021 in Agassiz-Harrison, according to the latest annual policing report from the Agassiz RCMP detachment.
Sgt. Mike Sargent, the detachment’s spokesperson, presented the year in review before Harrison Hot Springs council during their regular meeting on March 7. Sargent’s report broke down statistics for not only the village but the District of Kent as well.
Sargent defined “priority 1” calls as any police call that requires swift response, such as medical emergencies and crimes in progress. There were 43 priority 1 calls in 2021, up significantly from 25 calls in 2020 and 16 calls per year on average from 2016 to 2020. 2017 was the quietest year in recent years with only three priority 1 calls.
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General occurrences throughout Agassiz-Harrison were up slightly from 2020 to 2021, from 550 to 578, an increase of only five per cent.
Property crime saw a rise in incidents, going from 70 incidents in 2020 to 84 in 2021, a 20 per cent increase. However, it’s still slightly below the five-year average of 84 incidents. 2018 was the worst recent year for property crime with 118 incidents, and 2020 was the best with 70 incidents.
Crimes against persons and controlled drug incidents were both down. Crimes against persons fell by nine per cent from 34 to 31 cases (the five year average is 22). In recent history, drug incidents have been very rare with only two on average every year for the past five years. 2021 saw only one drug-related incident.
Theft from motor vehicles and mischief crimes rose in Harrison Hot Springs, showing an increase of eight and 12 incidents, respectively.
Violent crime was down across most categories from 2020 to 2021. There have been no homicides, weapons offenses or kidnapping cases in recent years. Assault rose from 16 incidents to 23 (up 44 per cent) and domestic violence incidents also rose from 21 incidents to 31 (a 48 per cent increase).
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Most of the police incidents occur in the District of Kent (39 per cent); about 20 per cent came from Harrison Hot Springs. 19 per cent of police calls came from Agassiz-area First Nations communities and Popkum each. The remaining three per cent came from other rural areas in Agassiz-Harrison.
Though general occurrences were up between Agassiz, Harrison and the surrounding area, the number of calls to the village decreased slightly from 2020 to 2021. Sargent reported an uptick in transient offenders in the Harrison area, which is not an uncommon issue for the village. Catalytic converter thefts continue to be a problem for the area, a trend that is mirrored in communities throughout the Lower Mainland.
Sargent said officers spend more time with administrative tasks in this past year between reporting on investigations, the increase in court disclosure requirements and analytical documents surrounding drugs, firearms and electronics. Overdoses and medical emergencies have also taken up police time in recent months, in addition to providing assistance during the floods and fires late last year.
Sargent said among the highlights for the detachment was founding block watch groups in several communities and a breaking and entering investigation that led to the arrest of two prolific offenders.
There are a total of 15 members with the Agassiz RCMP detachment with six municipal officers and nine provincial.
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