Port Coquitlam crime rate remains at historic low

While there may be problems with speeding drivers and store shoplifters, Port Coquitlam was a pretty safe place to live in 2025.

The city’s crime rate continued its downward slide last year, as the RCMP recorded 40 crimes per 1,000 people.

That rate is down from 45 from 2024 and from a rate of 59 crimes per 1,000 people in 2020.

“This is a safe community,” Coquitlam RCMP Insp. Todd Balaban told Port Coquitlam council on Tuesday. “Our call volume is going down. Our crime severity is going down. It’s a good place to live.”

Police recorded 543 persons crimes in 2025. That figure, which includes crimes including harassment, assault, and sex offences, was the lowest total over the past five years, down from a high of 671 in 2022.

The most common persons crime is assault, representing 40 percent of the total. Uttering threats and harassment each account for 23 percent of persons crimes. Weapons offences, kidnappings, and homicides make up less than 0.8 percent of persons crimes.

Property crimes continued to decline, dipping from 2,045 in 2020 to 1,597 in 2025. However, shoplifting was an outlier, surging by 38 percent compared to the three-year average.

Police are pledging to work with businesses and the public on shoplifting prevention.

There were 787 mental health-related calls for service, up from 744 calls last year.

Starting in 2023, police have paired a mental health nurse with a police officer as part of the Mobile Integrated Crisis Response unit.

The program has resulted in better risk analysis on mental health calls.

Police also handed out a total of 4,900 traffic tickets in 2025.

FIFA impact

While details still need to be worked out, Coquitlam RCMP will likely provide about 25 officers to assist with the need for extra security around the FIFA games, according to Balaban.