The Prince George public stands behind the local RCMP, according to a researcher in the field of crime stats and criminal history, and Maclean's magazine's recent rankings help demonstrate it. According to UNBC professor Jonathan Swainger, the public is clearly willing to dial 911 or otherwise inform police when suspicious activity takes place. "High conviction rates and high rates of reporting crimes to police actually show a trust that your police force is doing a good job and the community is willing to turn to the police for help," Swainger said.
Swainger said the perception that the province is "unhappy with the RCMP" is based primarily on media coverage "when some things have gone wrong" and controversies over contract renewal negotiations.
"But this report shows, actually, the complete opposite," he said. "There is a lot of evidence here that the population is actually quite happy with the RCMP. The public is not disenchanted to the point they are unwilling to turn to them for their professional help in critical moments."
The overall number of calls for service went down in 2011 - up to 1,000 fewer calls for the help of police - in a sign that crime itself has diminished across the board, according to local police leaders, since no particular roadblock to calling police was evident.
"There is public confidence in reporting crime, that police will work on it when you call with a problem," said Mayor Shari Green.
Green also noted that statistics resulting from a big police push on downtown crime showed police were successful in stopping criminals rather than displacing them into the surrounding areas.
More than 730 tips were provided to the not-for-profit agency that collects tips and provides the information anonymously to the police.
Thirty-one arrests were made, 11 illegally possessed weapons taken off the streets, and $7 million worth of drugs wrtr seized as a direct result of these tips.
Crime Stoppers has not officially disclosed their statistical details for 2011.
Watch for more on their
numbers early in the new year.
January is national Crime
Stoppers month.
