Crime rose four per cent in Mission from 2022 to 2023.
Mission RCMP Insp. Ted Lewko presented the detachment’s quarterly report to council on Monday (Feb. 5) with statistics from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, along with 2023 overall.
Despite the increase from 2022, crime saw an eight per cent decrease from the third quarter of 2023 (June 1 to Sept. 31). However, there was a 10 per cent increase from the fourth quarter of 2022.
“Although the City of Mission is up in most crime types compared to the same time last year, there has been a significant reduction in most of these crime types from [quarter three],” Lewko’s quarterly report reads.
Thefts over $5,000 witnessed the largest increase in 2023 at 67 per cent, but those files were down 11 per cent from quarter three.
Break-and-enters rose across the board in 2023, with residential break-ins up 47 per cent, business 20 per cent and other break-ins (such as construction sites) 38 per cent.
Shoplifting also had a sizable jump from 2022 at 30 per cent but decreased by one per cent in the fourth quarter, during which a shoplifting blitz led to 13 arrests.
The biggest dip in files from 2022 came from the Mental Health Act category at 21 per cent. Auto theft crimes and robberies were each down 19 per cent from the previous year as well. Robberies had one of the biggest decreases from quarter three at 25 per cent but auto theft had one of the largest increases in that period at 104 per cent.
Lewko says arsons have also reduced significantly due to the arrest of three prolific arsonists over the past year.
The largest increase from summer to fall was sex offences at 124 per cent. With 47 files from October through December, sex offences were up 68 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2022 and 13 per cent overall.
Sixty-six per cent of the total files in 2023 were non-chargeable and 34 per cent were chargeable.
On the traffic side, Mission RCMP clocked 446 speeding infractions and 48 excess speeding infractions. The city had 553 total accidents in 2023, including three fatal incidents.
Going forward, the detachment plans to provide crime prevention education to prevent and reduce auto thefts and break-ins. Mission RCMP also plan to identify and target offenders involved in break-ins and auto thefts while increasing patrols in affected areas.
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