Through the first eight months of 2019, the Thompson RCMP detachment has received 2,319 more calls for service than they did from Jan. 1 to Aug. 30 in 2018, detachment officer-in-charge Insp. Brian Edmonds told the City of Thompson’s public safety committee Sept. 12.
“That’s probably easily a month’s worth of calls already,” said Edmonds, who is speaking to the Thompson Chamber of Commerce at their lunch meeting Sept. 18.
The inspector also said that crimes against persons are higher so far this year than last, but that police are also working to defuse situations before they become more serious too.
“We’ve really worked hard at our proactive and preventive calls,” he said. “Crimes against persons remain a priority for us. That will not change.”
RCMP responded to 130 assault calls in June, 110 in July and 112 in August, along with 81 domestic assaults over the same three months, 30 of them in August. There were also eight sexual assaults in June, 10 sexual assaults in July and six in August.
June and July saw 15 break-and-enter cases each, while there were 22 in August.
For the year to date, there have been 135 more assaults than there were in the first eight months of 2018, 17 more sexual assaults and 11 more domestic assault cases, while break-and-enters are up to 97 from 69 through the first eight months of 2018.
Provincial traffic offences are also up significantly – about 40 per cent – in large part because there is a Thompson RCMP position dedicated to traffic enforcement this year.
“The traffic member position has made a difference,” said Edmonds.
