Eleven mailboxes have been bombed by bear bangers, according to Sunshine Coast RCMP Staff Sgt. Vishal Mathura’s fourth quarter crime report presented at the Jan. 6 Gibsons council meeting.
“What I have in my hand is a bear banger cartridge. You can purchase these at hunting stores. It’s a little explosive used primarily to scare off bears,” said Mathura, holding up what looks like a small red firecracker at Tuesday’s meeting. “Our suspects would go to a mailbox, light this, close the mailbox. A couple minutes later the mailbox explodes.”
He said the ongoing police investigation caught a break recently with surveillance photos of possible suspects identified as two Caucasian males in their late teens or early 20s.
“Unfortunately it was dark so we had to use night vision for the photos,” Mathura said.
Other highlights of the report included a decrease in the number of 9-1-1 calls, down almost four per cent from 2013, and crimes against persons have been reduced from 23 to 19.
“It’s not a huge drop numbers wise, yet,” Mathura said.
He said one statistic in the report is a little misleading, as federal statute crimes are up 300 per cent in Gibsons, but this is actually the result of there being one federal statute crime in 2013 and four in 2014.
Federal statutes include things like violations to the firearms act and family disputes. However, this reflects the total number of investigations performed, regardless of whether charges were laid, he said.
MADD program
In an effort to crack down on impaired or distracted driving, a proposal has been put forward to council to implement five road signs urging residents to report any suspicious drivers.
This isn’t limited to drunk driving, although it is part of a campaign introduced by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), which encompasses everything from suspected substance abuse or intoxication to texting while driving or boating.
MADD representatives were on the Coast in early December asking Gibsons, Sechelt and the Sunshine Coast Regional District to consider placing the signs at various locations around the Sunshine Coast.
MADD would provide the signs, and the municipalities would have to pay the installation fee.
A recommendation to approve the program for Gibsons was carried by council, who have directed staff to look at potential locations for the signs.
FAC appointment
Coun. Jeremy Valeriote was nominated to represent Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee.
