Prince George RCMP respond to spike in calls — but often play 'referee' on non-criminal issues

Police in Prince George, B.C., say they are stretched thin responding to more calls than ever and, according to the superintendent, officers end up playing "referee" for non-criminal issues in many of those cases.  

Crime statistics has been a heated topic in the central B.C. city for years. Nearly a decade ago,  Maclean's magazine dubbed Prince George the most dangerous city in Canada three years in a row. 

Prince George RCMP Supt. Shaun Wright presented the latest crime statistics from 2019 to city council on Monday. Those numbers show a 25 per cent increase in calls compared to five years ago. 

"It would be foolish to attribute one single cause to that," Wright told Carolina de Ryk, host of CBC's Daybreak North. 

"But it definitely signals a shift in social factors."

In the downtown core, by far the most common 911 calls are about disturbances, mischief, mental health issues, public intoxication, overdoses and "suspicious" people. 

"It's really what I would term "nuisance crimes" or a conflict between different populations — between the marginalized population down there [in the downtown area] and then what I'd kind of phrase as the general society, your merchants and patrons," Wright said. 

"We just kind of play referee and try to resolve those conflicts when they occur."

Assault data

The latest numbers appear to show a dramatic increase in assault cases in Prince George —  which jumped to 958 cases last year after hovering around 600 or less since 2014.

But Wright says that's because of a change in how Statistics Canada compiles the data. Before 2019, crimes that were determined to be unfounded weren't included in the data set. 

"We're comparing apples and oranges," he said. Comparing 2018 to 2019 under the same methodology shows comparable numbers for the two years.

Comparing the number of assaults between 2018 and 2017, when the same methodology was used for both years, shows a slight dip in assaults — which is a more accurate representation, Wright said. 

On the other hand, property crimes are up — that includes thefts, break-and-entries and stolen vehicles. 

"To be perfectly honest, I anticipate seeing those numbers continue to creep up over the next several years," he said. 

Wright says that's partially because of changes to Canada's Criminal Code from Bill C-75, which means some people who otherwise would be taken into custody aren't and partially because of what he describes as "social issues."

"It's not a police responsibility to change a social issue. That really needs to be the focus of government," he said. 

To hear more, tap on the audio link below: