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Uninvited house guests, 100-plus beach fires among summer calls to White Rock RCMP

Third-quarter report shows overall call volume to police similar to last year
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RCMP Staff Sgt. Kale Pauls presents his first-quarter crime report to White Rock council on May 9, 2022. This week, he released his report for Q3, which includes stats from July 1 to Sept. 30. (whiterockcity.ca screenshot)

A pair of break-and-enters in which the intruders appear to have made themselves at home are among the more unusual incidents highlighted in a White Rock RCMP report of police activity in the city during the third quarter of 2022.

Twice between the beginning of July and end of September, the report from Staff Sgt. Kale Pauls notes, White Rock residents encountered strangers “essentially help(ing) themselves to the use of their homes.”

In one case, an owner arrived home to find that an unknown man had taken a shower, eaten some of the homeowner’s food and “sauntered around while having a cigarette.”

After leaving the house in a vehicle, the man was arrested at the Canada-U.S. border crossing, where he was suspected to be driving under the influence of a drug.

In the second incident, the report continues, “a female entered an unlocked door to an occupied home, told the homeowner it was her house and sat down.”

Police were called and the woman was arrested on an outstanding warrant, in addition to being unlawfully in a house.

“It was suspected that she was having a drug induced delusion,” Pauls’ report notes.

A third incident involved a landlord who allegedly entered a rental unit illegally and barricaded the door with glue and 2x4s, “contrary to criminal law and the Residential Tenancy Act.”

Pauls’ report, issued every three months, summarizes the number and types of calls White Rock RCMP receive, as well as any proactive policing initiatives that have taken place during that time.

From July 1 to Sept. 30, police responded to 17 incidents of residential break-and-enters, up from 10 during the previous quarter and more than double the eight incidents reported during the third quarter of 2021.

There were 31 residential break-and-enters during the first nine months of this year, while 33 were reported in all of 2021.

Among the other calls noted in the report, 81 involved a “primary mental health component” while 36 were Mental Health Act calls that involved assessments or apprehensions.

READ ALSO: ‘Let White Rock be grand pilot’ for changes to mental-health response: RCMP

Overall, the number of calls for service remained relatively steady from year-to-year, Pauls noted. White Rock RCMP responded to 1,950 calls during the third quarter of 2022, compared to 1,917 calls between July and September of 2021.

READ ALSO: Crime down in Surrey, White Rock last year compared to ’20: Stats Canada

Of the 526 criminal occurrences reported over three months, nearly half (47 per cent) were related to property, fraud or mischief. Another 31 per cent were for disturbance/breach; 17 per cent for persons offences; four per cent for criminal driving and one per cent for drug offences.

During the first nine months of 2022 White Rock RCMP received 5,284 calls for service. In all of 2021, there were 7,032 calls.

Other incidents summarized in the report include “crimes against person,” of which there were 81 in Q3, including eight reports of sexual offences. In 2021 there were 80 incidents during the same period.

There were 16 break-and-enters to businesses from July to September. These included four to commercial businesses, 11 to storage, parkade or “other” and one to common/condo mailbox.

During Q3, White Rock officers removed 27 impaired drivers from city streets, and issued more than 400 traffic violation tickets or written notices, the report notes.

A “summer season overview” in the report indicates that 13 tickets and 34 warnings were issued related to the Liquor Act; one ticket and one warning related to the Cannabis Act; and 50 tickets and 201 warnings related to the Rail Safety Act.

Additionally, police extinguished 126 shore-side fires and issued four related tickets over the summer months.



editorial@peacearchnews.com

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Brenda Anderson

About the Author: Brenda Anderson

Brenda Anderson is editor of the Peace Arch News.
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