Prince George, B.C. – Although there has been a decrease in the number of calls for  service to the Prince George RCMP detachment, Superintendent Warren Brown  says there are still a number of  concerns.

In a presentation to Prince George City Council,  Supt. Brown says nuisance properties and crack shacks are among those  concerns.  He says the RCMP continue to work with bylaw services “to address and hold property owners accountable if they fail to maintain an acceptable level of maintenance.” Inspector Brad Anderson  supported that effort saying “We need to be aggressive in dealing with graffiti. Whenever there is an area that looks run down, that attracts crime.”

Supt. Brown says the Downtown Enforcement Unit will continue as will the Domestic Violence Unit.  What is new, is  the Car 60 program which  has two officers teamed with a mental health nurse.  That program  got underway  a week ago. The number of  calls for service for mental health issues increased to 1037 last year,  a 3% increase over the 1016  such calls in 2013.

Theft of vehicles over $5,000 were up by 28%, but Supt. Brown says that  could be the result of  just one or two prolific  offenders.

Firearms issues continue to be a concern as  Supt. Brown says hundreds of firearms   related offences are investigated each year.

(at right, image of some of the firearms in the P.G. Detachment’s exhibit area-image courtesy Prince George RCMP)

Inspector Brad Anderson pointed to the image  of the firearms  adding, “There are a number of firearms  and a number of them will be destroyed but we continue to deal with firearms offences in the City”

There has been no change in the number of murders in Prince George as there was one in 2014, and one in 2013.  The same  can be said about sexual assaults as there were 64 such investigations in each of the two years.

Councillor Brian Skakun wanted to know  what was being done to battle  gang activity.  Supt. Brown  says  the detachment is “maxed out, and the Provincial  units  are also stretched very thin.  I am hoping that when we get our head above water we can start targeting some of those trouble makers.”

Superintendent Brown  offered a word of warning “If you are a drug dealer, or someone who is  involved in  violence,  we will target you and we will do everything possible to put you in jail.”