Overall property crime is up by 24 per cent in Richmond through three quarters of the year compared to 2013, according to an RCMP report to the city’s safety committee.
The city’s crime rates remain low compared to other Metro Vancouver municipalities and the recent spike in property crimes is largely the result of a big spike (73 per cent) in thefts from motor vehicles, something other municipalities are experiencing as well.
Up to October, there have been 1,930 thefts from motor vehicles in Richmond, up from 1,116 during the same time last year. In 2013, about 700 thefts occurred in the last quarter as the total reached 1,836.
Up to October, the Vancouver Police Department is reporting 7,134 thefts from motor vehicles (a 27 per cent spike) while Surrey is reporting 7,191 (a 57 per cent spike).
When comparing the thefts to ICBC registered vehicles in 2013, on average 1.6 per cent of registered vehicles in Richmond have been broken into, whereas in Vancouver, 2.2 per cent of all vehicles have been broken into. In Surrey, the rate is 2.5 per cent.
Richmond has about 118,000 registered vehicles.
Another contributor to Richmond’s spike in property crime is a 61 per cent increase in motor vehicle thefts and a 19 per cent increase in residential break and enters.
Up to October, there have been 628 home break-ins. In Vancouver, that number is 1,645 and in Surrey it’s 1,953.
Over the three quarters in 2014, Vancouver has seen a 10 per cent spike in property crime while surrey has seen a 27 per cent hike.
Meanwhile, violent crimes such as assaults, robbery and sexual offences are up just 3.3 per cent (926) in Richmond and serious drug offences are down 21 per cent (475).
In 2013, Richmond’s 7,286 incidents of property crime represented a rate of about 3,600 incidents per 100,000 people. According to Statistics Canada, Vancouver’s rate was 4,642 while the Canadian average was 3,146.
