Break and enter crimes and property thefts have risen in the last year, according to a Prince George RCMP report for city council Monday.
The number of break-ins jumped by 22 per cent to 721 cases, while thefts of vehicles and property valued under $5,000 both increased by 16 per cent.
Vehicles worth more than $5,000, by contrast, fell to 2013 levels after a 40 per cent spike in 2014.
In his report, Supt. Warren Brown highlighted successful RCMP initiatives in 2015 like the Car 60 program and its work investigating two high-profile murders. Four men face are facing charges of first-degree murder in the 2012 death of Jordan Christian Reno, 22. Three more men were charged with murder for Jordan Taylor McLeod's death.
McLeod's body was found
Feb. 22 by a man walking his dog off the Kaykay Forest Service Road, past the end of Nukko Lake Road, northwest of the city.
The report, which also outlines the RCMP's "strategic focus" for 2016, comes after council voted in Janaury to boost the police budget so the RCMP could hire three more officers and one city support worker this year. That added 0.21 per cent to the tax levy increase, bringing the overall 2016 increase to 3.21 per cent.
Its file count has moved between 36,000 and 39,000 for the last seven years, down from a high of almost 49,000 in 2006.
McLeod marked the first of 2015's four murders, compared to one each of the previous two years.
All other cases of violent crime are down from the year before.
The number of reported sexual assaults dropped by 20 per cent, with 53 cases, compared to 66 the year before.
Under community safety, Brown identified its Domestic Violence Unit support of victims, traffic safety's focus on impaired driving, and the Downtown Safety Unit's new permanent positions.
It also has 30 general duty members trained in bike patrol to ensure more presence downtown.
In April, the force launched the Car 60 program in partnership with Northern Health, which pairs two full-time police officers with psychiatric nurses to respond to mental health calls.
Since May, police have responded to more than 60 calls each month, with the number of apprehensions or those admitted for care under 20 most months.
Police have seen a more than 75 per cent increase in cases dealing with those who have mental health issues. In 2009, there were 605 reports whereas 2015 had 1,076. Brown will also discuss a social chronic offender program Monday among other policing initiatives.
That program appears to already be in effect, with Brown attributing the increase in prisoners to the number of "social chronic offenders."
Last year there were 4,712 prisoners, compared to 3,309 in 2013.
Other crime reduction highlights include dealing with two nuisance properties - Lombardy trailer park and Connaught Inn - and its graffiti project. Launched in 2014, Brown credited the program for identifying two prolific offenders. A restorative justice program, launched in late 2015, saw its first case in December.
-- with files from Mark Nielsen and Charelle Evelyn
