Spike in Chilliwack crime leads to call for more cops

The City of Chilliwack is grappling with spiking crime rates and hopes to get 10 new RCMP officers to deal with it.

Property crime, auto theft and weapons offences are all on the rise, and last month, a man was stabbed and killed in a grocery store parking lot in broad daylight.

Mayor Sharon Gaetz told On The Coast guest host Michelle Elliot that weapon offences, for instance, went up 114 per cent from March 2015 to March 2016.

In the same time frame, she says, auto thefts were up 38 percent, property crime was up 33 percent and thefts from vehicles were up 57 percent.

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Gaetz says that while some incidents, such as last month's stabbing, involved a suspect and victim known to each other, prolific offenders are a problem the community and police need to deal with.

"We know that prolific offenders do 80 to 90 percent of the crime and they just keep getting put out onto the street," Gaetz said. "We have to get the province and the courts involved in that regard to get these people off the street."

Gaetz also says much of the crime in her city is fuelled by mental illness and drugs and alcohol.

"The drug and alcohol part is totally avoidable, so we do send RCMP into the schools to talk to kids about drugs and keeping themselves from using drugs and becoming dependent on drugs," she said.

Gaetz says she doesn't know when a decision on new RCMP officers for Chilliwack will be made,

She says for now, people in Chilliwack need to watch out for each other, be aware, report crime and remember to keep doors locked, including doors to sheds and garages.

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast

To hear the full story, click the audio labelled: Chilliwack mayor says high crime means more RCMP needed