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While it’s still “too early” to tell, it appears the pandemic played a role in Kelowna's crime trends during 2020.
On Monday, city council heard a report from local RCMP on public safety and crime trends throughout last year.
The report was highlighted by a 17.7% increase in common assault offenses (1159 from 985) and a 15.3% increase in domestic violence offences (776 from 673).
Offences for uttering threats and harassment also spiked 40.9% (648 from 460) as well as assault with a weapon offences, which jumped by 22.1% (326 from 267).
New top cop Supt. Kara Triance said the increase in crimes against persons is not unique to Kelowna.
“It would be too early to say at this point, but we believe that it is a COVID related challenge," said Triance.
"I think we are seeing some pandemic related factors and we're going to be monitoring this very closely in 2021. Trying to determine if this is consistent versus a change in how crime is perceived in this community.”
Meanwhile, sexual assault offences were down, decreasing to 144 from 159.
"Mindful of historical concerns over the classification of sexual assaults in Kelowna, we are committed to earning the trust of victims," stated the report.
The report also showed a decrease in property crime by 16% across the city in 2020.
That number is led by a 24.5% decrease in auto theft to 422 offences in 2020 from 559 in 2019.
Overall, Kelowna Mounties responded to 58,740 calls for service in 2020, down 2.5% from the 60,219 calls they responded to in 2019.
To see the full presentation of the report, click here.
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