Crime rate on the rise in Chilliwack
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CHILLIWACK — There is a disturbing trend emerging as society recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and it has nothing to do with physical health. Instead, the trend is an increase in crime. That was a point made last week by Superintendent Davy Lee of the Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment.
“We are seeing a rise in the crime data,” Lee told Chilliwack City Council Tuesday in his quarterly community policing report. “Now that we are moving to the post-pandemic era, we’re starting to see a lot of things returning back to normal. People are getting out and doing things, including committing crimes,” Lee added.
Lee provided city councillors with statistics measured by the detachment over the second quarter of the year from April 1 to June 30. The numbers revealed an eight per cent increase in Priority One calls which are defined by RCMP as a major incident in progress that requires immediate police presence, assistance or service. The detachment attended 364 situations in the second quarter, up from 338 calls in the first three months of the year.
Although property crimes dropped six per cent from quarter to quarter, the more serious category of crimes against persons rose three per cent from 582 calls to 600. “These trends, I can tell you, are not unique to Chilliwack,” said Lee. “Most (RCMP) detachments across the lower mainland as well as other municipal policing departments are also seeing the same type of trend.”
