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THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012
Male faces charge of assaulting a police officer
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Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
Car catches fire
The Williams Lake Fire Department responded to a vehicle fire at Bee Jay Towing & Auto Wrecking Tuesday morning. The derelict vehicle was being prepared for crushing when it caught fire.
A male is facing several charges, including assaulting a police officer, after the RCMP tried to arrest him Saturday. On May 19, on Highway 97 just south of Williams Lake, two RCMP officers attempted to arrest an intoxicated male pedestrian who was staggering into traffic. Police say the male became combative with police and while being taken into custody the male uttered numerous threats toward the arresting officers. The male in currently in custody facing several charges including assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and uttering threats. He is scheduled to appear in Provincial Court today, May 22.
Inside the Tribune NEWS A2 Next court date set for Gentles. SPORTS A14 Hundreds turn out for Peel Out. COMMUNITY A22 Toastmasters boosts confidence. Weather outlook: Mainly cloudy/chance of showers today, high of 14 C. Sunny Friday, high of 22 C.
RCMP to develop domestic violence section Monica Lamb-Yorski Tribune Staff Writer While most crime rates in Williams Lake are lower, in some cases considerably lower, than they were in 2008, domestic violence is on the rise. “We’re going to be a little more deliberate with our attempts to deal with domestic violence and are going to have one constable here in Williams Lake develop a domestic violence section,” said Insp. Warren Brown during a first quarter and RCMP annual performance plan report at Tuesday’s regular council meeting. “That person will liaise with other programs in an attempt to be more focused and pro-active with some things we can do. We are altering our victim services with a number of volunteers right now, the first time we’ve done that in a number of years,” Brown said. Coun. Laurie Walters pointed out that domestic violence is on the rise in the province and in North America. “It was interesting because we know it’s high here, but it’s also high in other communities,” Walters said.
Brown said he truly believes it’s also becoming more frequently reported than it was in the past. During the presentation, he showed graphs comparing crime rates between Jan. 1 and April 30 of the years from 2008 through 2012. In 2012 there were 10 auto crimes, compared to 85 in 2008. There were 25 break and enters of homes compared to 53 in 2008, four break and enters to businesses compared to 27 in 2008, 29 domestic violence incidents compared to 23 in 2008, 138 mischief crimes compared to 213, and three robberies with violence compared to nine in 2008. The number of calls for service was down as well — just under 2,500 compared to 3,500 in 2008. The calls for service have remained lower the last two years than they’ve ever been; however, Williams Lake is still in the top three for calls for service in the province. When it comes to break and enters of homes, Brown told council he’s concerned there have been 25 already. “As we speak, people from our general investigation unit are out arresting people and retrieving property stolen over the weekend,” Brown said.
He said most robberies are related to drug activities, so one of the priorities of the RCMP is to aggressively target known drug dealers. Priorities outlined for the next year include continuing to improve and enhance police and aboriginal relationships. “We have a high turnover of police officers here so we endeavour to have our police officers engage themselves in a host of activities in First Nations communities,” Brown explained. “For example, we had a few of our officers out in one of the communities last week for a sweat.” Based on the needs of aboriginal communities, the RCMP may also be invited to speak on education and awareness around issues of gang violence. Unfortunately, Brown said, the school liaison worker has been removed and transferred to the district marijuana team. To compensate, the city’s schools have been assigned to all four watches and each watch devotes time to the schools. When asked by Walters if the school liaison position is gone forever, Brown said it’s a matter of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
“With increased drug activity and the number of marijuana grow-ops, we’re the squeaky wheel in the Cariboo to get the team started two and a half years ago. We’re still committed to seeing that through and I’m not sure how long that will go on for, but I would suggest it will go forward until such time as we feel we’ve made a big difference.” By assigning the watches themselves with a greater role of liaising with the schools, Brown suggested it might mean that the RCMP are better represented in the schools. The RCMP continues to apply for grants through the National Crime Prevention Centre, and to develop its community policing programs, and engage youth. “We recently met with the junior council to pick the brains of the young people,” Brown said. Continuing to focus on safer communities, by engaging in “good, old-fashioned police work,” the RCMP also reaches out to prolific and chronic offenders to sincerely try and assist them and see if there’s something in the environment they can control. See SOME Page A3