The New Brunswick RCMP has released its 2017 Annual Report. The report reflects the RCMP's commitment to accountability and to keep the public informed of the work being done in the communities served by the RCMP (approximately 70 % of New Brunswick's population).
Overall, crime against persons saw a slight increase over the year before (+0.66 %) while property crime went up 6.21 % from 2016. Part of the reason for the property crime increase is a change in the way the RCMP codes calls for services when it comes to the category of Fraud. Previously, calls that did not require a police response such as when they were referred to another agency like the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, were not counted. Now all calls regarding fraud that come in to the RCMP are counted.
There were two additional motor vehicle fatalities when compared to 2016 (66 in 2017 compared to 64 in 2016). Concerning in those numbers was an increase in motorcycle involved fatality collisions increasing to 11 from 6 while fatal off-road collisions increased to 9 from 5. Victims not wearing seatbelts (15 fatalities) and/or alcohol/drugs being a factor in the collisions (22 fatalities) also remained significant factors to the number of people killed.
alarm calls appeared to take a significant increase in 2017 (+142.96 %) but the increase is largely due to how those calls are coded. Previously, calls that did not require a police response, such as the alarm company being able to confirm it was indeed a false alarm, were not counted. Now all calls for false alarms are counted to better reflect the actual number of calls the RCMP receives.
"The statistics give us a snapshot of a year. We will take a look at them to try to identify if there are any trends or areas we can focus on as police where we can have an impact," says New Brunswick RCMP Media Relations Officer, Corporal Jullie Rogers-Marsh. "While no one wants to see any increase in crime, we do remain one of the safest areas in Canada with a relatively low crime rate, particularly with serious crimes."
The 2017 Annual Report includes sections on each of the province's four districts, Federal Policing, specialized units, major investigations and various features on the RCMP's involvement in our communities.
The entire report is available on the RCMP website at http://www.rcmp.gc.ca/en/nb/2017-annual-report