Message from the Officer in Charge

During this past year the West Shore Detachment experienced many successes and continued to provide a high level of policing service and community engagement. The Detachment focused on the policing priorities established in consultation with the community partners, and worked on a number of serious criminal investigations, successfully bringing these to resolution.

The West Shore community continues to show positive growth, being the fastest growing communities in the Province. Along with this growth has come great opportunities and an increase in special events, including, but not limited to the Rock the Shores Music festival, which developed into a three day festival, various sporting events and tournaments, with Langford being identified for the Women’s International Rugby tournament, as well as Bear Mountain recently being selected as the training location for the Canadian National Mountain Bike team. With the variety of special events, rapid population growth, and development of supporting community infrastructure and commercial enterprise comes increased pressures for policing.

The Detachment also continued to grow this past year, with three additional Municipal Employees added to the Detachment along with two Regular Member positions. The Detachment has successfully implemented Sergeant Watch Commanders, increasing the level of supervision and on scene guidance available to the members on duty. Each General Duty Watch now consists of a Sergeant Watch Commander and a Corporal Patrol NCO. With the two new “Regular Member” positions the Detachment put in place a “Call Manager” position, resulting in a uniformed member available during regular office hours to assist at the front counter, increasing the service delivery to the community and an ability to deal with operational questions and concerns without impacting the police officers on patrol. A second new position was created, combining a Media Relations Position and Event Planner. This regular Member is responsible for liaison with the media regarding developing events, communicating the Detachment messages, holding media briefings and on camera interviews. In addition, this member has the responsibility of updating and maintaining the Detachment website. Significant work has gone into this endeavour, and the website is being developed into a useful tool to provide answers to the community including frequently asked questions, provide guidance and assistance with Criminal Records checks, volunteer positions and general information. Over the next year the website will continue to be developed and refined, keeping pace with rapidly changing technology. The Detachment will also be engaging in a Twitter Account in the coming weeks, which will be maintained on a regular basis and allow for rapid information sharing and up to date information that is valuable to the general public. In addition, this busy member has the responsibility for preparing and planning for the police needs and response to the various special events that occur within the West Shore Detachment. As these requests and pressures are growing at a rapid pace this is a significant and important role. This will allow the Detachment to streamline the police process and provide efficient and effective planning, communication, and deployment of resources to these events, ensuring a safe experience for all while being receptive to the promoters, events, and community.

With the increasing demands for reporting, court evidence, and documentation the demands on the Detachment have increased exponentially. The addition of the three Municipal employees are a much needed addition, contributing behind the scene to the critical tasks of file management, data base entry and information mining, providing information to the various agencies who access police information and working closely with Crown Counsel, to name a few.

This past year also saw the closure of the Regional Crime Team. The West Shore resource was repositioned within the Detachment to focus on prolific offenders and assist in Crime Reduction. The plain clothes unit of the West Shore Detachment has been instrumental in coordinating intelligence meetings with the regional policing partners, facilitating the sharing of information and ensuring a positive relationship and effort to reduce crime by the area's prolific offenders.

The West Shore Detachment, personnel and volunteers are keen, progressive, energetic and dedicated to their duties and roles and to the communities we serve. There is a strong sense of community, which is evident by the many community functions the staff, members, and volunteers attend in support of the community, ranging from educational duties, Remembrance Day and Canada Day Celebrations, to the successful Detachment Open House.

The West Shore Detachment has a very strong and healthy Auxiliary Constable program. These volunteers are dedicated and provide hundreds of volunteer hours to the Communities. The Auxiliaries recruited are of a high calibre and many have moved on to join the ranks as Regular RCMP members. This year again, the Detachment will be engaged in recruiting more Auxiliary Constables, with a recruitment drive about to begin. The Detachment recognized the value of these, and all volunteers, and is looking to increase the number of Auxiliaries it trains.

The West Shore Detachment prides itself on community service and high quality investigations. They proudly represent the West Shore communities throughout the region, actively participating in integrated units, sharing ideas and working collaboratively with nearby units, RCMP Detachments, and Municipal police departments. The Detachment continues to recognize the importance of communication with the community and is looking towards the future to take advantage of technological trends that are developing.

As the Officer in Charge of the West Shore Detachment it is my pleasure to provide this report as a snap shot of the work and achievements of the RCMP Police Officers, Municipal and Public Service Staff, and volunteers at the Detachment.

Insp. Larry CHOMYN - Officer In Charge

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Message from the OIC ............................................. 2
• Table of Contents ..................................................... 4
• West Shore RCMP Jurisdictions ................................ 5
• Structure and Support Units .................................... 6
• Total Files ................................................................. 7
• Number of Files/Population .................................... 8
• Comparison to other Municipalities ......................... 8
• Criminal Code Offences ........................................... 9
• Strategic Policing Priorities (APP) .......................... 12
• Prolific Offender Management .............................. 15
• Licensed Premise Checks ........................................ 16
• Mental Health Act .................................................. 16
• Domestic Violence .................................................. 16
• Greater Victoria Police Victim Services .................. 17
• Traffic ..................................................................... 18
• Website Information .............................................. 19
• Appendix ................................................................ 20

The statistical data utilized in this report is derived from the BC Police Records Information Management Environment (PRIME) system. This system is always in a state of flux as offences and files are cleared, added or require scoring changes. The majority of the data used was captured at a specific point in time to allow for accurate comparisons, although it should be recognized that late reporting does occur.

The Annual Statistical Report provides information on crimes against the person, crimes against property, traffic offences, drug offences, other calls for service, and various subjects of interest. Trends are summarized using both numbers and percentages. The total number of offences and calls for service is significant from a work load perspective while percentages are an indicator of change over time. Actual file counts are used to document statistical reporting requirements for violent and other crimes committed for Statistics Canada. Distinctions will be noted on each page. All other statistics are taken from Statistics Canada and Police Resources in BC from the Police Services Division, Ministry of Justice, December 2014.

West Shore RCMP Annual Report - 2014

West Shore RCMP proudly serves approximately 71,000 people and reports to 5 municipalities including the City of Langford, the City of Colwood, the Town of View Royal, the District of Metchosin and the District of Highlands. West Shore RCMP also proudly serves the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations. West Shore RCMP polices everything from commercial/industrial zones to residential neighborhoods, waterfront recreational areas, provincial parks and the main Island Highway.

West Shore is situated in a beautiful location between the Malahat and the Cities of Victoria and Saanich. West Shore has one of the fastest rising populations in the area thanks to lower housing costs and increasing amenities.

West Shore RCMP

In 2014, West Shore RCMP was staffed by 63 sworn officers, and 19 civilian staff members who together handled 18,094 calls for service.

West Shore RCMP supports and works together with the Vancouver Island Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU), Forensic Identification Services (FIS), the Regional Domestic Violence Unit (RDVU), Integrated Mobile Crisis Response Team (IMCRT), and the Mobile Youth Services Team (MYST). The Regional Crime Unit was shut down in September 2014. The West Shore Detachment supports these integrated units through secondment of Detachment personnel on a full time or rotational basis, or through financial contributions towards the unit's budgets. Currently West Shore Detachment provides the following members to these units:

• 2 members seconded to the Vancouver Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU)
• 1 member seconded to the Regional Domestic Violence Unit (RDVU)
• 1 member is also provided to the RCMP Identification Unit and is embedded with that unit. Although this is an RCMP unit, this structure allows the West Shore Detachment access to the entire identification unit and provides a wider range of service and coverage.

West Shore RCMP is also supported by and works with other Provincial units and RCMP sections including the Integrated Road Safety Unit (IRSU), RCMP Air Services, RCMP Explosive Detonation Unit (EDU), Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU), Vancouver Island Underwater Recovery Team (URT), RCMP Special I, and Federal RCMP Sections including Federal Serious and Organized Crime Teams (FSOC).

West Shore RCMP Statistics for 2014

TABLE 1: COMPARISON OF TOTAL FILES FOR WEST SHORE AND MUNICIPALITIES FOR 2013, 2014 AND THE % CHANGE

The number of calls for service for 2014 was virtually unchanged from 2013 - down by 3%. Metchosin saw a small 8% increase in total files while all the other jurisdictions saw decreases.

It is important to note that due to an increase in legislative requirements, documentation and file processing requirements, disclosure requests, court preparation, search warrant and production warrant requirements, technological advances such as video requirements, and privacy issues and requests, the work required for each file, especially those which will be proceeding to court, has increased dramatically.

TABLE 2: 2014 POPULATION NUMBERS FOR WEST SHORE MUNICIPALITIES, TOTAL FILES AND % OF FILES/POPULATION

This figure shows the percentage of calls for service by population as it is an easier comparison between the municipalities based on the differences in size. Langford had the most calls as a percentage of the population, followed by View Royal, then Colwood.

**Population estimates are taken from the Police Services Division BC-Ministry of Justice. Metchosin, Highlands, and all other policing areas in West Shore are not yet available for the 2014 est. year, and so were not included in this table.

In the West Shore policing area, the municipalities vary significantly in overall make-up with some mostly rural or predominantly residential and others such as Langford with many businesses and the main West Shore “city core”. Given the business locations and population clusters, the higher numbers observed for Langford (30.6% of files/population) are expected. This pattern is also seen in the numbers from Victoria City compared to other municipalities, due to the downtown core and the influx of people from outlying areas by those working, socializing and utilizing downtown amenities (including social services).

TABLE 3: 2014 COMPARISON OF WEST SHORE TO OTHER MUNICIPALITIES

Comparison to neighboring police jurisdictions.

**Population estimates are taken from the Police Services Division BC-Ministry of Justice

Criminal Code Offences – Comparison from 2013-2014 & Five Year Trend

TABLE 4: CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON - CRIMINAL CODE OFFENCES FOR 2013 AND 2014

The numbers included in the above figure represent files that were classified as "actual", so the numbers are lower than the total file counts and are not an accurate representation of work load. Files that are scored as "actual" meet the criteria required to be counted in the Crime Severity Index.

There was some variation in the Persons Crimes category from 2013 to 2014. Assaults were up 8%, Sexual Offences up 8%, Weapons Offences were up 20% while Robbery Offences decreased by 9%.

TABLE 5: PROPERTY CRIME OFFENCES FOR 2013 AND 2014 & THE FIVE YEAR TREND

Property crimes decreased in general thanks in part to the work general duty members and plain clothes members put into curfew checks, street checks, and our participation in the Prolific Offender Management Program (POM). Over the past two years the West Shore Detachment has focused efforts on Theft from Vehicles, curfew checks and offender management initiatives contributing to the overall decline in theft of vehicles and theft from vehicles.

Theft from Motor Vehicle decreased by 21% from 2013, while Theft of Vehicle decreased by 32%. Break and Enters to Business and Residence increased slightly by 5 and 7% respectively. Arson files remained the same, and fraud files increased slightly by 6%. Over a dozen Break and Enters to Business can be directly attributed to one chronic offender, an offender who was new to the Island in 2014, and who is currently in custody.

TABLE 6: DRUG OFFENCES FOR 2013 AND 2014 & THE FIVE YEAR TREND

2014 drug seizure from a local residence by the West Shore Street Crime Unit. Cocaine, heroin, crystal methamphetamine and cash.

Strategic Policing Priorities: The Annual Performance Plan 2014-2015 (APP)

West Shore RCMP's management team works closely with our five distinct detachment communities and First Nations Reserves to identify local policing priorities. Each RCMP Detachment in BC is mandated to prepare an Annual Performance Plan (APP) that addresses local policing priorities. Through consultation with elected officials and senior staff, the West Shore Annual Performance Plan focuses on the issues identified throughout the region. The APP process is designed to be flexible to the changing needs of the communities and as such the priorities are continually revisited and adjusted in response.

The five key priorities identified are Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking, Traffic Safety, Police/Community Relations and Visibility of Police, Aboriginal Policing, and Property Crime.

Note: The APP follows the RCMP fiscal year of April 1st to March 31st

West Shore RCMP 2013-2014 APP Strategic Initiatives

Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Reduce the Impact of Organized Crime

Highlights

• Identified and monitored emerging OMG groups, identified members and associates and conducted enforcement where possible.
• There were 175 bar walks conducted in 2014, to ensure ongoing compliance with liquor laws and maintain a presence to assess activity.
• There were 142 Total drug trafficking investigations for calendar year 2014, (24 Actual files) with 15 charges.
• Marihuana is still the number one drug seized followed by cocaine and heroin.

Traffic Safety Safe Roads and Reducing Injury Accidents

Highlights

• Both the Municipal Traffic Unit and uniform members conduct traffic enforcement. Areas of concern are identified and targeted with an emphasis placed on aggressive driving and impaired driving.
• School zones are always a focus area for safety and enforcement.
• High crash intersections were identified and a focus of enforcement efforts. Serious injury accidents were reduced by 13% from 2013.
• Almost 10% of all calls for service in West Shore are related to traffic and driving complaints.

Police/Community Relations and Visibility of Police Enhancing and Contributing to Police and Community Relations

Highlights

• The Crime Prevention Unit carries out numerous functions in the community including School Liaison Duties, Auxiliary Constable Coordination, Community Policing Programs, and Police Bicycle Patrols.
• West Shore added a new Media Liaison position in 2014.
• Provide educational programs including DARE, Internet safety talks and the Lock it or Lose it campaign.
• Attendance at many Community functions, including the Canada Day Celebrations at Fort Rodd Hill in Red Serge.
• Speed watch campaign and other Volunteer programs such as Block Watch, KIT Program (Keep in Touch – for seniors)

Property Crime Reduce Property Crime

Highlights

• Continued focus on reducing property crime and targeting prolific offenders.
• West Shore has continued with the “Lock it or Lose it” campaign by educating people with a note left on their vehicle as a reminder to lock their doors.
• Theft from MV is down 21% this year from last and Theft of Vehicle is down 32%.
• West Shore RCMP stepped up the curfew check program by actively monitoring individuals placed on court ordered curfew or house arrest. In the last 6 months of 2014, there were 330 curfew checks conducted, and 19 breach charges recommended.

Aboriginal Policing Focus on Community Priorities/Youth

Highlights

• Dedicated First Nation Constable and school liaison.
• Building relationships and contributing to a safer and healthier aboriginal community.
• Meetings held with Chief and representatives from the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nation to discuss and identify community priorities.

Prolific Offender Management Program (POM)

West Shore RCMP participates in the Prolific Offender Management Program in conjunction with Municipal Police Agencies, Corrections, Probation, Crown, and various Social Agencies throughout the Southern Island Region. The POM program was created due to the emerging consensus that a disproportionate percentage of crime, particularly property crime, is committed by a few select offenders. POM emphasizes inter-agency collaboration as a means to effectively target these individuals, reduce recidivism and increase community safety.

POM targets are selected based on several factors, including the number of police contacts, and are then supported by an integrated team of service providers. Prolific Offenders receive individually tailored support including referrals to employment, housing and income assistance, and assistance with access to mental health and substance abuse treatment. Immediate response to reoffending or breaching conditions is the second component to the strategy with prompt apprehension and conviction with the assistance of Crown Counsel who manages files based on pre-prepared POM templates from Police.

West Shore RCMP manages 4 of the prolific offenders residing in the municipality out of a possible 20 (currently 17) for the Greater Victoria Region. In 2014, 2 of the Prolific Offenders spent part of the year in custody, were released and are currently back in custody; 1 was mainly out in the community, and 1 was recently released from jail. The reduction in property crime, specifically Theft from MV, can be attributed to the incarceration of West Shore’s prolific offenders, and stepped up curfew checks.

The 4 prolific offenders monitored by West Shore RCMP, had a total of 59 police contacts between them, despite several of them spending most of the year incarcerated. Almost all of the individuals on the POM list suffer from alcohol or drug abuse issues which is a driving factor in their criminal behaviour.

Licensed Premise Checks

The majority of bars and nightclubs are in downtown Victoria, however; West Shore does have a few establishments that are open late and are popular drinking locations. In 2014, the nightlife landscape changed in West Shore with Brown’s Socialhouse opening up on Goldstream Ave, the conversion of the Station House Pub to a Darcy’s Pub and the closure of the Svelte Lounge.

Mental Health Act

In 2013, 488 files were scored under the Mental Health Act. In 2014, West Shore had 571 files scored under the Mental Health Act, an increase of 17%. These included suicidal persons, and Mental Health Act apprehensions. Those apprehended under the Mental Health Act are taken to the Royal Jubilee Hospital for medical assistance.

Domestic Violence

In 2013, 420 files were scored as having a domestic violence component. In 2014, 480 files were scored as having a domestic violence component, an increase of 14%.

Did you know?

In 2014, West Shore RCMP received 519 False/Abandoned 911 calls, and 1018 False Alarm calls. Each call required follow up and in many cases a police visit.

Greater Victoria Police Victim Services (GVPVS) www.gvpvs.org

Victim’s Services is a volunteer based program that works with police to help people impacted by crime and trauma. Their vision is to help victims achieve a state of well-being and assist in their recovery. They provide services to victims of crime or trauma who may or may not have reported the crime to police or be involved with the criminal justice system.

Victim’s services

• Provide emotional and practical support
• Make referrals to services
• Make safety plans
• Assist with Crime Victim Assistance applications
• Assist with Victim Impact Statements
• Provide information about the court and criminal justice systems
• Accompany victims to court
• Provide education on victim rights and services

Recent Highlights from the GVPVS Program Director’s Report for December 2014/January 2015

• Case referrals by Police Department reflect a pattern of West Shore RCMP maintaining the highest number of referred cases: December= 31 cases, January =27. (SPD: December= 8 cases, January= 14; VicPD: December= 12 cases, January= 4.)
• Cases referred by West Shore RCMP are of a wider variety compared to SPD and VicPD, whose referrals are primarily for assault/abuse, and property crimes.

TABLE 7: CASES REFERRED BY POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR JANUARY 2015

Traffic

As one of the APPs, traffic is a priority of the West Shore Detachment. Driving complaints are some of the most frequent calls for service, including complaints for speeders, bad drivers or possible impaired drivers. Out of 18,094 total calls for service, almost 10% are traffic related.

TABLE 8: NON-FATAL CRASHES RESULTING IN INJURY, CRASHES RESULTING IN FATALITY AND IMPAIRED OP OF A MV FOR 2011 TO 2014.

In addition to impaired charges, 96 warnings were issued. Warnings include 24hr Drug impairment, 24hr Driving Prohibition and 3, 7 and 30 day Driving Prohibitions (3 Day, 7 Day and 30 Day Driving Prohibition Warnings are given based on previous impaired driving history).

Website

West Shore RCMP has updated the detachment website this year. The website is being monitored and updated on a daily basis. The website has information pertaining to some of the most commonly asked questions including criminal record check information, contact information, volunteer programs and other programs and services. The public can also see emerging West Shore RCMP news stories and there is a direct link to Crime Stoppers. Stay tuned for more!

www.westshore.rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Appendix – Stats

West Shore

**The following stats include all calls for service, not just the ones scored as “actual” so there will be some discrepancy between these numbers and the ones in the report above. Please see the last page for more information on total calls vs. actual calls for service.

City of Langford

City of Colwood

Town of View Royal

District of Metchosin

District of Highlands

Songhees FNR

Esquimalt FNR

Total Calls vs. Actual Calls

The following table shows the breakdown of calls received to account for the difference in "Total" and "Actual" call volumes. As indicated the "Total" number is significantly higher than the "Actual" number. Total calls are an accurate representation of workload, while the Actual files are used for statistical reporting to Statistics Canada. Below explains how some of our files are scored and shows the difference between total call volume and only those that meet the Statistics Canada requirements. The data in the chart is from 2012. The variation in numbers regarding the Assaults is a good example.

WEST SHORE YEARLY TOTAL - 2012

Definitions:

Total: All files/calls for service received that were initially reported as the given offence.

Actual: Files determined to be of the offence indicated as required for reporting by Statistics Canada.

Unfounded: Means that the police investigation has established that a crime did not happen or was not attempted. For example, police receive a report of a man climbing into the window of a house at 2am (reported as residential break and enter), subsequent police investigation reveals man was the owner of the house and had lost his keys.

Unsubstantiated: If the reported offence is unsubstantiated, it means there wasn't enough evidence to establish that an offence was committed or attempted and would therefore not be reported to Statistics Canada. Examples of an unsubstantiated offence would be an assault with no physical evidence, or an uncooperative victim or a traffic complaint of an impaired driver, but vehicle not located by patrols. Files are also scored as "Unsubstantiated" if they are non-reportable to Statistics Canada. These include non-suspicious sudden deaths or mental health type files.

Assistance: Assisting another Agency, such as serving a subpoena for another Police Agency for the Offence noted, taking statements or looking for a missing person.

Cleared: File is cleared by charge or other (solve rate).

Clearance Rate: % of files cleared (solved).

As indicated above, the reported (“Total”) files are significantly higher than the “Actual” and statistically significant as many of the “Total” files required the same amount of investigative time and resources as those scored as “Actual”.