The local crime rate shot up at the start of this year.
Total Criminal Code offenses jumped by 17% to 692 – 100 more than the first quarter of 2018.
Property Crime increased by 15% compared to the previous quarter, with fraud, theft, and shoplifting the most frequent complaints.
But violent crime exploded by a whopping 65%, as Assault complaints more than doubled, from 39 to 81.
Port Alberni RCMP Superintendent Brian Hunter will make his quarterly presentation to City Council tomorrow afternoon, and explain how the local Major Crimes Unit has been working on several serious investigations including two robberies and an attempted murder case – all of which resulted in arrests.
The meeting begins at 2 o’clock at city hall.
