The 2011 fourth quarter crime stats report was presented by Lake Country Detachment RCMP Sgt. Scott Rempel, at the District of Lake Country Council regular meeting.
The big news in the report was the spike in grow-op busts in the district while many other indicators were either flat or falling.
Crime statistics for 2011 in Lake Country show an increase of 26 per cent over 2010. Grow-op busts increased both in number of seizures and total number of plants. There were 8,491 marijuana plants taken down in 2011 from diverse neighborhoods across the district including Lake Hill Drive, Powley Court, Okanagan Centre Road east, and Bond Road.
The Bond Road operation saw 4,600 plants and seven pounds of marijuana and equipment seized.
The next largest plant count was on Santina Road with 1,185 plants seized while a separate bust on Okanagan Centre Road West removed 16 pounds of marijuana.
“It was a busy year for marijuana grow-ops,” Rempel remarked. The increase in charges being laid reflected an increase in attention being paid to the issue by the detachment.
Certain numbers dropped in the last quarter of 2011 including traffic accidents, 29 occurred in 2011, down substantially from 59 crashes in the same period 2010.
If you were stopped for a moving vehicle infraction in Lake Country in the same period you had a roughly 50/50 chance of getting a warning; 181 violation tickets were issued and 182 traffic notices (warnings) were made. Rempel said this reflects a solid use of discretion on the part of traffic enforcement.
Crimes against persons during the quarter included one robbery, 20 assaults and 13 domestic assaults.
Property crime stats were 12 break and enters, seven motor vehicle thefts and 34 thefts of goods valued under $5,000.