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Overall crime in Surrey was down in 2020

Surrey RCMP say overall criminal code offences in the city were down 14 per cent in 2020
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Surrey RCMP say overall criminal code offences in the city were down 14 per cent in 2020. RCMP released its fourth quarter of 2020 and year-to-date statistics Thursday morning on the Surrey RCMP website.

Surrey RCMP say overall criminal code offences in the city were down 14 per cent in 2020.

RCMP released its fourth quarter of 2020 and year-to-date statistics Thursday morning on the Surrey RCMP website.

Violent crime decreased in 2020 both in Q4 (-19 per cent) and for the year overall (- nine per cent). Homicides saw a 43 per cent decrease from 2019 (nine fewer murders), while attempted murders saw no change.

Surrey had 34 shots fired calls in 2020 compared to 45 in 2019, which is a 24 per cent reduction. This said, the violence associated to the Lower Mainland Gang Conflict increased in late 2020/early 2021 with homicides throughout the region including Surrey. The Surrey RCMP Gang Enforcement Team (SGET) has been deployed with an aggressive plan to target criminals who put the community at risk. This targeted plan includes curfew checks, Outlaw Motorcycle Gang clubhouse checks, Inadmissible Patron Program checks, and targeted provincial and federal statute investigations.

Drug trafficking is the primary criminal enterprise of gangs and continues to be an investigative priority for Surrey RCMP. Many significant drug seizures were made throughout the year (see 2020 news releases), which helped to disrupt gang and drug trafficking activity in the city. The purchase and use of drugs continued to negatively impact the health of Surrey citizens. Surrey RCMP officers used Naloxone when attending 87 suspected overdose files in 2020.

Although robberies declined by 23 per cent in Q4, there was an overall increase for the year of 11 per cent. A number of robberies in 2020 resulted from the use of online marketplace applications. As such, Surrey RCMP increased education and public awareness efforts on this trend throughout the year, and it continues to be a priority for our Robbery Unit this year.

There was a six per cent decrease in sexual offences in Q4 compared to the same period the year previous. However, there have been a number of sexual extortions throughout 2020. Consequently, additional public awareness initiatives were undertaken throughout the year cautioning internet users of cyber crime trends and promoting internet safety.

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a variety of unique duties for Surrey RCMP. In response to the new responsibility for enforcing B.C. public health orders, Surrey RCMP partnered with Surrey Bylaw Enforcement to form the COVID-19 Compliance and Enforcement Team (CCET). Only two per cent of the team’s thousands of compliance checks in 2020 were found to be non-compliant, and 48 violation tickets were issued.

CCET continues to provide guidance and education to local businesses, faith-based organizations, parks and residences to ensure compliance with COVID-19 health orders.

Overall property crime declined by 16 per cent for the year, and 25 per cent in Q4. All areas of property crime showed decreases in 2020, including a 17 per cent reduction in break and enters, a 19 per cent decline in theft from vehicles, and a two per cent decrease in fraud.

Breach/bail violations increased by 10 per cent in 2020, reflecting the work of the RCMP’s High Risk Target Team and Strike Force Target Team, who work to ensure that the most prolific and violent offenders in Surrey are complying with their court-ordered conditions.

“I’m impressed with how our officers and support staf fadapted so quickly to new challenges presented by the pandemic,” said Asst. Commissioner Brian Edwards, the Surrey RCMP Officer in Charge. “Despite those challenges we were able to implement important COVID-19 safety measures and decrease crime across the city.”