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Guest column: Property crime top priority for RCMP

Ken Johnston is a City of Richmond councillor: A quick glance at the headlines will tell you community safety and property crime are major concerns for Richmond residents and businesses.
Photos: Richmond City Council 2014-2018_16
2014-2018 Richmond City Council councillor Ken Johnston

Ken Johnston is a City of Richmond councillor:

A quick glance at the headlines will tell you community safety and property crime are major concerns for Richmond residents and businesses. The City and Richmond RCMP are working closely with our partners and the community to address those concerns.

The good news is that reported crime in Richmond has declined steadily over the past decade. Both violent and property crimes have significantly decreased over time. However, despite that success, we still see spikes in various types of property crime activity in different parts of the city that can last for an extended period. That’s why Richmond RCMP has made property crime the top priority in their 2015-2017 Strategic Plan, which was recently presented to council’s community safety committee. 

To address property crime, the RCMP are putting a strong focus on raising public awareness about crime and providing crime prevention education and tools, along with continuing and reinforcing their own enforcement activities. As a member of the community safety committee, I’m pleased by the efforts Richmond RCMP has made to address property crime, including the introduction of some innovative tools for the community.

Last year, we became one of the first communities in B.C. to introduce online crime reporting. This allows citizens to quickly and easily file many crime reports with Richmond RCMP through our city website.

The City and RCMP also developed an interactive, online Crime Map  www.richmond.ca/crime where citizens can keep track of crimes in their neighbourhood so you can be aware and extra vigilant if there is a spike in activity in your area. You can also sign up to receive email bulletins that will be sent directly to you whenever a crime occurs in your neighbourhood (send your street and email address to blockwatch@richmond.ca.

Indeed, our citizens are one of our best tools in fighting crime. There are many small ways you can protect yourself and make your home and property a difficult target. To help with this, a new Crime Prevention Guide was released last year.  

You can also become even more proactive by volunteering to be part of our Block Watch and Crime Watch programs, which create extra eyes and ears to assist police in the fight against crime and bring neighbourhoods together in this common purpose.

On the enforcement side, the RCMP’s internal crime reduction committee meets monthly to review crime trends, compare notes and determine strategies for the deployment and focus of patrols and investigations. This includes identifying and targeting residences that act as hubs for high risk and prolific property crime offenders. Stronger relationships are being forged with crown counsel and community correctional services to ensure convicted offenders receive adequate sentencing and that offenders abide by the terms of their sentencing.  

In the community, RCMP  are working more closely with businesses and residents to share and gather intelligence s. 

Criminal activity is often fuelled by challenges offenders may be experiencing with mental health, addiction or other issues. As a result, RCMP are working closely with health and social service agencies that can keep at-risk individuals from turning to crime.

Through the coordinated efforts of the RCMP, City, our partners and the community, we are making a difference. But we must continue to be vigilant and work together to deter criminals. We need to send the message to criminals that Richmond is an aware, engaged and active community when it comes to crime prevention. To find out more about crime prevention, visit the City’s website at www.richmond.ca and click on the Public Safety link or call RCMP at 604-278-1212.