RCMP Sgt. Calvin Aird presented the Sunshine Coast RCMP’s second quarter report to Gibsons council members at the July 22 committee of the whole, highlighting a 17 per cent increase in files compared to the same period last year.
Aird noted that “some of the numbers we want to kind of look at are the red—those in ‘other CC offences’ have went up,” particularly “cause disturbance or suspicious occurrence.”
He explained that “we’re not seeing necessarily an uptick in the general population, but specific people.”
Mental health-related calls rose significantly, with 79 files in Q2 compared to 29 the previous year. “We’ve changed that now to include all mental health-related files… to better capture where resources are going,” Aird said.
Fraud cases also increased, which Aird attributed to “a lot of awareness through media releases around fraud.” He added, “Again, I would think frauds are happening all the time. So it could be the awareness factor.”
Council members raised concerns about repeat mental health incidents in the community.
Aird acknowledged the issue, saying, “Our apprehension powers are very difficult sometimes to articulate,” and emphasized that “calls for service basically build our cases to help get these people in front of a doctor.”
He also announced a new initiative: “We actually have plans to dedicate a specific member to work with the hospital here and proactively try to engage with the people that need the assistance.”
Council members also asked about marine patrols, bylaw enforcement, and staffing.
Aird confirmed the detachment is “currently down … two constable positions” and that marine patrols are not always captured unless they result in enforcement.
Jordan Copp is Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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