Integrated Road Safety Units Rack Up the Numbers

Friday, February 27, 2009 03:58 AM

Prince George, B.C.- It was a busy, but productive year for Integrated Road Safety Units around the Province.

They helped reduce traffic injuries by 11 per cent and laid 22 per cent more impaired driving charges in 2007, according to the latest annual report from B.C.'s Enhanced Road Safety Enforcement Initiative.

The initiative, which involved 111 RCMP and municipal police officers in 2007, used targeted enforcement programs like Counterattack to catch and charge 1,025 impaired drivers - up from 840 in 2006. Enhanced
enforcement also led to a 71 per cent increase in the number of 90-day administrative driving prohibitions issued to drinking drivers, to 520 in 2007 from 300 in 2006.

Fatality statistics released by the ministry earlier this week show B.C.'s road-death toll is at its lowest in six years. The report notes road fatalities fell by seven per cent in 2007 alone.

Additional details highlighted in the annual report:

*In the RCMP North District, which covers the region north of 100 Mile House, impaired driving infractions rose 34 per cent to 884; intersection violations, 40 per cent to 860; and commercial vehicle infractions, 44
per cent to 2,411. Seatbelt and speed infractions made up two-thirds of all enhanced enforcement violations in the district.

Throughout the Province:

* Road deaths declined to 415 in 2007 from annual averages of 445 in 2004 and 2005, and injury victims declined to 25,899 from 28,974, despite an increase in registered drivers.
* Seatbelt use in urban areas increased to 95 per cent in 2007 from 83 per cent in 2003.
* Intersection violations increased to 9,600 in 2007 from 7,800 in 2006.
* In 2007, its first year, the Air One provincial traffic safety helicopter helped to recover 115 stolen vehicles and controlled 26 vehicle pursuits.
* As of March 2007, about 9,600 fewer stolen vehicles were being reported per year than in 2003, saving ICBC customers $38.7 million a year.

The initiative's work also led to other law enforcement successes. The number of people arrested during traffic checks on suspicion of money-laundering, transporting drugs and possessing stolen property
increased by nearly half, to 1,715 in 2007 from 1,173 in 2006.

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Posted on Friday, February 27, 2009 03:58 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: metalman on February 27 2009 2:17 PM

That's just like them, they take all the credit.
metalman.

Posted by: lostfaith on February 27 2009 4:09 PM

Thats how they try to justify their programs Metalman.

Posted by: sportsman on February 27 2009 9:10 PM

I was just wondering if all of these people were KNOWN TO PLOICE?
Go catch some actual criminals, Lord knows we have a few that are KNOWN TO POLICE.

Posted by: sportsman on February 27 2009 9:12 PM

So my typing was a bit off, you got the point (I hope.)

Posted by: rodangus on February 27 2009 9:44 PM

Though i'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt, I'm afraid the rcmp may be trying to baffle us with bs.

Like, uh, of the 115 stolen vehicles recovered by 'Air One', how many of these were actually stolen from taxpayers versus 'bait cars', what was the expense for this exercise, how many convictions for theft over $5000 were obtained, what was the total dollar amount of fines levied against the convicted car thieves, and what was the average jail sentence meted out. etc. etc. etc.

Regarding the rest of your 'story' Mr. Meisner, methinks you should have checked your source a litle better.

How about get your new superintendent of the police here to fill us in on the arrest rate from several thousand break and enters in this city.

They make a fool of you when you broadcast such stories as above. The fire department could have obtained the same statistics using roadblocks, but how about the fruits of real police work? I see none of that in this story. Maybe your readers could supply you with about 1500 questions to ask our new police superintendent...