Property crime and fraud up: RCMP annual report

Property crime and reports of fraud have increased, according toan annual report from the New Brunswick RCMP.

The report, RCMP in New Brunswick Annual Report 2015 released Monday says property crime rose by 15.4 per cent.

In 2014, there were 16,880 reports of property crime, which includes arson, break and enter, fraud, possession of property obtained by crime, theft $5,000 and under and theft $5,000 and over and theft of motor vehicle.

A year later, the number of reports grew by 2,610to 19,490.

But the most startlingstatistic in the report was that showing a 50 per cent increase in reports of fraud.

"This is a significant increase, and one the RCMP takes very seriously," the reports states.

Cst. Jullie Rogers-Marsh, media relations officer,says the increase in fraud is due in part by the calls from people claiming to be with the Canadian Revenue Agency. "Many people are now reporting this as a crime to police. It doesn't necessarily mean people were defrauded, it's that we've received reports of this type of fraud that's happening."

Car thefts contribute to rise

"In 2015, there was a 15% increase in property crime throughout RCMP jurisdiction in New Brunswick, after years of stability and decreases. While a one-year increase does not constitute a trend, and a number of factors can contribute to crime rates, the rise in 2015 appears to correlate to a significant increase in thefts from cars and a dramatic increase in reports of fraud."

Focus on crime reduction

Other statistics show a 20.5 per cent increase in break and enters and 19 per cent increase in theft under $5,000. The RCMP is committed to helping reduce and prevent these types of crime across New Brunswick.

In the report, the RCMP say they understand property crime is "unsettling for victims, violating their sense of well-being and trust in their safety."

In response to it, the RCMP say they are continuing to focus on crime reduction efforts and have reached out to the public to share information and tips to help prevent others from becoming victims of the same types of crime.

The Greater Moncton area was one region that experienced rashes of thefts from vehicles in the summer of 2015.

"The RCMP made concerted efforts to warn residents to lock their doors and stow their valuables," the report said.

The percentage of drug offences fell by 14.9 per cent and there were decreases in charges for importing and exporting, possession, production and trafficking.

25% of RCMPresponse involves traffic

The report continues saying 25 per cent of all the instances that theRCMPresponded to in 2015 in the province involved traffic.

There were 51 people killed in crashes on the province's roadways policed by the RCMP in 2015. Of that number 43 per cent were not wearing seatbelts and 29 per cent who died were killed in crashes involving alcohol or drugs.

There were 792 impaired driving charges laid in 2015.

"The RCMP in New Brunswick is working hard to do our part to help reduce the number of lives needlessly lost on our roads," the report states. "In 2015, we conducted numerous checkstops and road safety operations around the province targeting impaired driving, not wearing a of seatbelt, distracted driving and other dangerous practices."

The report also asks for the help of the public. "We need public support and rely on New Brunswickers to make safe decisions, and encourage others to do so as well."

The report says the RCMP in New Brunswick will continue to focus on crime reduction, road safety, and investigating organized crime.

"More than anything, we want to continue to help build a safer New Brunswick. Everything we do is strategic and aimed at increasing the safety of our communities and neighbourhoods. Those are our marching orders," the report says.