The number of serious assaults in Richmond is up by 13 per cent from last year, but the city has the second lowest crime rates out of the four largest municipalities policed by RCMP in the Lower Mainland.
In a report going to Richmond council’s community safety committee next week, Richmond RCMP said there were 18 assaults with a weapon in January – an increase of 20 per cent from December and 13 per cent more than January 2021.
Most of the serious assaults in January involved incidents where the victim and suspect knew each other, according to the report, and charges have been laid or recommended in one-third of the cases.
Police said the number of serious assaults in January is “above the expected range,” and that no patterns or trends have been identified.
Other crimes, such as arson, commercial and residential break-and-enters and shoplifting all saw a decrease in January, according to the report.
The number of sexual offence files dropped by 32 per cent in January from December, and the number of mental health-related incidents decreased by 24 per cent. There were also fewer drug files, which decreased by 38 per cent from December.
Auto theft, however, increased by 11 per cent when compared to December. The number of robberies also went up slightly in January, by three cases, when compared to December, while theft from vehicles rose by 49 per cent.
The report states that, in all of these files apart from shoplifting – which was “below the expected range” – the number of reported incidents is “within the expected range.”
The report also notes that, Richmond had the second lowest rates for both violent and property crime in January, out of the four largest municipalities policed by RCMP in the Lower Mainland District.
According to the report, Burnaby had the highest property crime rate in January, followed by Surrey, Richmond and Coquitlam.
Meanwhile, Surrey had the highest violent crime rate, followed by Coquitlam, Richmond and Burnaby.
Richmond RCMP’s monthly report is on the agenda for Tuesday’s community safety committee meeting.
