Our guest speaker at Rotary last night was Deputy Chief Constable (and fellow Rotarian) Rick Lucy of the Abby PD and all I can say is WOW! The topic of his presentation was the “Who, Where, Why & How of Abbotsford’s Property Crime”.
We heard of the many strategies and tactics that the police have been taking to reduce crime within Abbotsford and it is some pretty cool stuff.
Here are some of the stats that really stood out for me:
Reported property crime peaked in Abbotsford in 2003 with 11,695 incidents. As of 2011, it was at 5666, which represents a 51.5% drop. So far, for 2012 we have had 545 fewer incidents, which represents a 15.8% reduction. He made note that not all property crime is reported for one reason or another and he stressed that the police want us to report them however minor we may think it is so that they are sure to work with as accurate numbers of incidents as possible which enables them to plan accordingly.
Auto theft (which would be closer to 100% reported lol) also peaked in 2003, at 2015 thefts. By 2010, it was down to 672, which was a 66.6% drop. In 2011, there were 552 stolen vehicles, which was an 18% reduction from 2010 and so far, to July 29, we are averaging .67 auto thefts per day, which translates to a forecast of 244.5 thefts this year, an astounding reduction from the peak in 2003.
He noted there are many different reasons for this vast reduction in crime within our city but some of the strategies they have put in place as well as the tactics they are using have to be given much of the credit and they deserve some serious kudos for their continued efforts.
