The COVID-19 pandemic is driving crime rates down in New Westminster – but not across the board.
The New Westminster Police Department noted that new crime trends have emerged in the city since COVID-19-related public health orders were put in place by the province five weeks ago. Since then, the local department has seen a “significant reduction” in most major crime categories, as well as residential break-and-enters, frauds and auto theft, according to a press release.
“These statistics reflect how we’re living right now,” said Acting Chief Const. Dave Jansen in the release. “This reduction in crime could be attributed to physical distancing, people spending more time at home, and the numerous different public health orders.”
The news, however, is somewhat mixed.
While there has been a 54% reduction in residential break-and-enters, there’s been an 8% increase in business break-and-enters. At the same time, however, property crime has gone down by 19%.
The press release notes that, thanks to the hard work of NWPD officers, numerous arrests have been made in connection to property crime across the city in the past several weeks. A number of those arrests were made at vacant properties and construction sites in the city.
“While the overall reduction of many kinds of crime is positive, there are some statistics that are causing us concern,” Jansen said. “These include a drop in domestic violence reports. Our concern with self-isolation is that it may keep victims of domestic violence from reaching out for help; they may be having problems notifying us.”
The New Westminster Police Department encourages victims of domestic violence to reach out to the police at 604-529-2525 for support or to call 911 in emergencies, and for neighbours to call 911 if they hear what they suspect is a domestic assault in progress.
Another area of note is theft from cars; the NWPD has seen a surge in theft from autos of 38%.
Everyone is reminded to park in well-lit areas, remove all valuables from their vehicles and to secure all doors and windows. If you are a victim of theft from auto, this can be reported to the NWPD online at www.nwpolice.org.
