INNISFAIL – Local Mounties are once again reporting a staggering increase in the number of property crimes in town and the surrounding region, in part due to the ongoing plague of stolen vehicle cases.
In a January to October report for 2017 that was presented to town council on Nov. 14, the Innisfail RCMP responded to a total of 727 property crimes. That compares to 459 in 2016 and 476 in 2015.
During that same period of this year Innisfail RCMP responded to 86 cases of vehicle thefts. That compares to 49 last year and 41 in 2015.
The RCMP has also responded to 102 possession of stolen property cases this year. Last year during the same period Mounties had only 43 files, and just 19 in 2015.
There is also a big spike in the number of break-ins in town and region. The 10-month report for 2017 shows local Mounties responding to 62 break-ins, compared to 32 over the same period in 2016 and 38 in 2015.
For just the month of October, Innisfail RCMP responded to a total of 80 property crimes. Last year they had just 44 in October, and 42 in 2015. There were eight cases of stolen vehicles, compared to four in 2016 and three in 2015. Local Mounties also responded to 10 possession of stolen property cases last October, compared to just one in 2016, and four the year before.
“The good news is that we are catching an awful lot of people and we are laying charges. The members are working extremely diligently to do that,” said Innisfail RCMP Sgt. Lori Eiler, emphasizing the latest statistics for possession of stolen property cases is reflective that Mounties are catching the criminals.
“We are working hard. We have some very dedicated members who are doing the best they can with the resources they have, and are invested in the community and they care. That is the bottom line,” said Eiler. “They care that the crime is in the state that it is at, and they are working and doing what they can to curb that.”
In the meantime, the latest Innisfail RCMP crime statistics also show the total number of offences against people, such as assaults, robberies and sexual assaults, has decreased this year compared to 2016. From last January to the end of October, local Mounties have responded to a total of 110 crimes against people. That compares to 127 over the same 10-month period in 2016, and 106 in 2015.
Innisfail RCMP Sgt. Lori Eiler
"We are working hard. We have some very dedicated members who are doing the best they can with the resources they have, and are invested in the community and they care."
