Thanks to the Smithers RCMP a restricted firearm is off the streets and at least three Northern B.C. residents have their cars back.
During his quarterly report to the Town, Staff Sgt. Terry Gillespie highlighted a number of interesting arrests made by officers within the detachment area between October and December of 2019.
One of those included an incident where RCMP were called just after 8 a.m. on October 30 to reports of a missing 2018 Ford Mustang.
The caller said the car was stolen sometime during the evening and the key had been taken from inside their house.
Even more interesting was what they told the RCMP was on their front lawn — a white Ford pickup that police eventually determined was stolen out of Terrace.
“Shortly thereafter an employee at Canadian Tire in Smithers called the detachment to report a male [who came] into the store stole some Canadian Tire coveralls and then stole a Black F-150,” said Gillespie.
RCMP members were dispatched to look for the missing vehicles and eventually located the Mustang travelling eastbound on Highway 16 just east of Telkwa.
“[The] vehicle was pinned in at the rest stop on Hungry Hill in Houston at which time the police arrested the lone male occupant,” said Gillespie.
Upon searching the individual they found approximately $600 in cash and the keys to the stolen F-150. A total of $4,300 was also found during a search of the vehicle.
RCMP forwarded 11 charges for the individual — who was prohibited from driving — which were approved by the Crown.
During another call on Dec. 9, Gillespie said police found four firearms — two shotguns and two rifles — while performing a search incidental to arrest after stopping a suspicious vehicle.
“One of the shotguns was modified by having a cut-down barrel and pistol grip and was less than 457mm in barrel length making it a prohibited weapon,” said Gillespie. “Also, the serial number was discovered to have been filed off.”
None of the passengers in the car possessed a PAL and charges were forwarded to the Crown.
Discussing these and a number of other cases, the RCMP detachment commander said he was very happy with how members have been handling these and other service calls.
“Members are definitely going beyond you know just taking a call for service,” he said.
“They’re doing a really good job of going beyond the initial call and looking into what’s going on and trying to reduce crime in the community.”
Discussing stats for the detachment Gillespie also highlighted a number of annual statistics for 2019 compared to the past two years.
The detachments total file count over the last three years has seen a slight increase to 5,501, up from 5,347 in 2018 and 5,239 in 2017.
Similarly, the prisoner count for the detachment from these years has increased to 698 from 618 (2018) and 591 (2017).
Gillespie said that it’s best to rely on multiple years of data, stressing the cyclical nature of crime and other offences.
“I’d like to put in at least like three years just for kind of an overall feel of where things are headed,” he said. “Even then, three years may be not always the most accurate but at least it gives you a general idea of where things are going.”
The Town recently approved the addition of one more municipally-funded Smithers RCMP officer beginning in April, bringing the total number of officers at the detachment to 21.
trevor.hewitt@interior-news.com
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