More than five months after the brazen assault of a South Surrey senior in her own home, police are celebrating the role that crime analysts played in the arrest of a suspect.
In a news release issued Thursday, Surrey RCMP Cpl. Scotty Schumann explains that experts with the detachment's Crime Analysis Unit – who are not police officers – were brought on early in the investigation of the Aug. 12 assault.
They "conducted various tasks including creating bulletins, conducting database and open-source queries, and creating maps, profiles and charts to assist the investigative team," Schumann writes.
"Through the collaborative efforts of the investigators, the analytical team and many others who assisted, a suspect was identified and arrested in September 2015."
Previously, police released few details regarding the investigation. It launched after a 70-year-old woman was assaulted by an intruder after she couldn't comply with a demand for cash and other items.
Police issued a warning to the community the next morning, then released photos of a suspect using an ATM in Brookswood.
Following the Sept. 4 arrest, it was announced that tips from the public were instrumental in identifying a person of interest, and that surveillance from that point enabled detectives to gather evidence to support charges.
A Langley man is facing a series of charges in connection with the incident – aggravated sexual assault, forcible confinement, break-and-enter, robbery, disguise with intent and use of imitation firearm.
Stephen Thomas Morse is next due to appear in Surrey Provincial Court on Feb. 2.
Schumann also lauded the role of analysts in Project Hot Wheels, a project targeting auto thieves that came to the public's attention last October, when multiple law enforcement agencies descended on a South Surrey "chop shop".
Schumann said analysts created maps and reports that outlined possible "hot-spot locations" and identified peak times of certain auto thefts.
The project resulted in the arrest of "a number" of prolific auto offenders and an almost 50 per cent decrease in auto-theft numbers compared to the same period in 2014, Schumann notes.
Suspect identification, arrest and charges in a series of taxi-cab robberies and assaults are also credited in large part to the work of analysts.
Unit manager Madga Marczak described crime analysis as "a growing field within law enforcement."
Supt. Shawn Gill said the work helps officers focus on specific crimes and offenders, as well as work proactively to prevent further crime.