Coquitlam crime rate stayed flat while shoplifting spiked in 2024

Coquitlam is generally safe for people, but a little bit perilous for store merchandise.

The city’s crime rate is still at a “historic low” of 44 crimes per 1,000 people, according to the RCMP’s year-in-review report.

That rate is identical to the 2023 level. However, after four years of relative stability, property crime shot up 9.5 percent in 2024; largely due to a major increase in shoplifting.

“This increase highlights the ongoing living affordability crisis across Canada, as shoplifting files represent a 56 percent increase when compared to 2023,” Coquitlam RCMP Supt. Darren Carr told Coquitlam council Monday.

Mental health and law enforcement

A new program designed to handle mental health calls hit the road in 2024. The Mobile Integrated Crisis Response, which partners a police officer offer with a nurse, is meant to help with de-escalation when someone is in a mental health crisis.

Having the nurse on scene is meant to foster a sense of trust, particularly among residents leery of dealing with police officers.

Because the nurses have access to medical records, “the program improves the accuracy of identifying individuals needing care or apprehension under the Mental Health Act,” according to the year-end report.

Mayor Richard Stewart, who lobbied for the program for the better part of the decade, celebrated its arrival while noting its shortcomings Monday.

He related a story from one resident who said she called police when her nine-year-od child with mental health challenges started behaving violently. Against her wishes, police officers arrived rather than a mental health nurse, leaving her less likely to call police in the same situation, the mayor related.

“How do we get to the point where a more appropriate response is available on all calls?” Stewart asked.

In 2024, the new mental health unit handled 660 cases – 27 percent of the total. However, the officers who handled the other three-quarters of mental health calls do have de-escalation training, Carr noted.

Stewart acknowledged that officers are quite capable. However, the gun on the waist and the police uniform itself can cause angst and escalation among some residents, he responded.

While it would be ideal to expand the program, it’s likely that funding would be prioritized to bring the program to other agencies rather than to expand existing programs, Carr told council.

In the short term, the detachment is working to ensure more officers spend time with mental health nurses who can: “impart more skill and experience” to the officers.

Responding to Stewart’s suggestion of a dedicated mental health ambulance, Carr noted the importance of having officers on scene.

“As tragic as mental health calls can be, they’re also one of the most dangerous calls for service that a police officer goes to because of the unpredictability,” he said. “It’s also about keeping the mental health nurses safe.”

Generally, each mental health file means a nearly two-hour wait in hospital.

In the third trimester of 2024. the average hospital wait time was one hour and 49 minutes – six minutes longer than the three-year average.

Gangs and bars

Coquitlam RCMP asked bars and restaurants to sign up for their inadmissible patron program in 2024.

The initiative, which aims gang members and associates out of bars, drew interest from five businesses last year.

Over 225 interactions, nine people were evicted from establishments due to the program, Carr told council.

The program was instituted three months after two people were injured in a shooting outside a Coquitlam Cactus Club.

The program is meant to: “deter public violence caused by organized crime groups and their associates by making it known that they are unwelcome and will be removed from locations with an Inadmissible Patrons Policy,” according to the RCMP.

Persons crimes

Persons crimes ticked up two percent in 2024.

In Coquitlam, assaults accounted for 47 percent of all persons crimes. The category also includes uttering threats, harassment, sex offences, as well as rarer crimes such as homicide and kidnapping.

In most cases, assaults occur between people who know each other or over disputes at bars and pubs, Carr said.

“So-called out of the blue assaults, they do happen but they’re rare,” he told council.

Overall, calls for service dipped slightly last year, going from 23,777 in 2023 to 23,627 in 2024.

The total Coquitlam RCMP budget for 2024 was $39.2 million